


24 dates

by GucciAspirin



Series: 24 ways steps to grow old together and some crap [2]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Adults, Alternate Universe, F/F, Sequel, but they still messy, kinda established, side nozoeli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:14:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7815550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GucciAspirin/pseuds/GucciAspirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A doctor and a super idol start dating each other. It's kind of a mess, but it's kind of perfect. (Sequel to 24 visits)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi hi !! i usually never do sequels or established longer fics - but here i am, doing a long ass sequel that includes a (kind of) established relationship. It's a little longer so for editing purposes this one's going to be a 3-shot ~ but it's all written out and will update as I edit the parts.

**Date one:**

 

Place: Ed’s Italian 

Time: April 9th, 7:00 pm

Yelp: 5/5 stars | Date: ⅖ breadsticks being shoved into a purse

  
  


Maki’s hands are sweating and she wipes them off on her dress without thinking. Her lip has been wedged in between her teeth all day, she’s picked out five different outfits and three different hairstyles so far. Now her hair is down, mussed but not particularly messy. It’s a sexy messy. Cosmo messy.

 

She fidgets, brings her hand up to her hair and then rips it away because in less than five minutes Nico is going to be here, and Maki  _ can’t  _ mess up her hair after getting it like this.

 

This date needs to be perfect. Everything is on the line now that she officially doesn’t have Nico as her patient anymore. If it’s terrible Nico could decide to never speak to her again, and then Maki wouldn’t know what condition her health is in (and she’d never see her smile, or laugh or hear that God awful  _ Nico Nico Nii! _ thing again). 

 

Maki glances at the door and then at the clock on her wall. Nico’s supposed to be here at 6:45, and Maki’s supposed to take them to the restaurant; though Maki doesn’t know why she didn’t just pick Nico up from the apartment and go straight to the restaurant. Poor planning.

 

Maki sighs and looks at the door again, and that’s when she hears a noise. Murmuring, actually. 

 

She walks up to the door, puts her ear against it. 

 

_ “Hello! Are you ready for your date with the greatest super idol in the universe Nico Nico Nii! - No, that’s dumb. Maybe - Maki must be super excited to finally buy Nico dinner and - err… no. That’s too forward.” _

 

Maki can feel her lips turn up, can’t stop the small laugh from leaving her mouth. She chews the inside of her cheek before opening the door to suppress the smile, only to have her mouth fall open at the sight of Nico.

 

Nico’s cheeks turn bright red. “Hi.” 

 

Maki looks her up and down a few times. Her light pink dress, the silver necklace around her smooth, pale neck; the black heels, the way her hair curls around the edges of her face. Red lipstick, nude eyeshadow, glimmering eyes. She swallows and unconsciously brings her hand up to her hair, begins to twirl one strand.

 

“Hi,” Maki says back. And they’re both quiet and neither can stop staring, but Nico’s gaze seems almost penetrative - or gross - maybe not the right word, but intense. It’s intense. She looks at Maki’s eyes and lips and nose, down to her chest, down at her legs, and then back up. 

 

“Hi,” she says again. “You look,” she swallows, “nice.”

 

“Not the introduction you planned on?”

 

Nico grows even redder, all the way to the tips of her ears and top of her chest. “How much of that did you hear?” 

 

Maki quirks her head to the side, and places a finger against her lips. “Well, there was:  _ Are you ready for your date with the greatest super idol in the universe Nico Nico Nii!  _ \- and then--”

 

“Okay, okay! _ ”  _ she waves her hands and shakes her head making Maki finally give in and laugh. “Anyways, my driver is waiting outside.”

 

Maki creases her brows together. She was pretty certain she was driving them. Afterall, she’d been the one to pick the place out, it was her date; theirs, but still hers. “I thought I was driving.”

 

Nico shrugs. “I just thought, you know, since he brought me here and everything.”

 

Maki looks at Nico again, really looks. And suddenly it doesn’t even matter because Maki would take public transit right now if it meant going on this date. “Okay,” she says. Her stomach flutters, like when people talk about having butterflies. She always thought of it as sort of melodramatic, but then she sees Nico and feels that pull, that light brush.

 

Nico gives her a small smile in return, ducking her head for a moment and then reaching her hand out. It’s a gesture that is almost foreign to Maki, and she feels strange when she brings her own hand out to grasp Nico’s.

 

But then her body feels warm,  like brisk sun touching her face from the window. It’s natural, Nico’s hand in her own. She rubs a small circle with her thumb against the back of Nico’s palm, looking down at their joined hands when Nico gives a tight squeeze. 

 

They keep their hands locked even in the back of Nico’s car, neither bothering to talk much. Maki tells the driver the directions, tells Nico the place too; but when it comes to conversation, she’s stilted. Of course, she’s had conversation with Nico before - but not while on a date.

 

And then it hits Maki. What if they have nothing to talk about? What if this whole romance is just something Maki had built up out of transference, what if it is actually a huge mistake? She worries her lip and looks at Nico, feels a pang strike at her, from heart to neck to toes. 

 

Nico glances back at her and smiles wide, her teeth gleaming. “So, is Maki excited?” she asks. 

 

“I--” Maki finds herself grinning back. “I thought about this all day.” She ducks her head down at the sudden embarrassment she gets from saying that out loud.

 

“I did too,” Nico says with the kind of pure unbridled honesty that makes Maki look at her once again. The car stops, and they continue to stare. Maki looks at Nico’s lips, at the dark, red shade; the small cracks that are just barely visible. 

 

She gathers herself before she actually kisses Nico. Maki may not be too experienced when it comes to dating, but kissing is for the end of the night and she has the feeling that if she starts kissing Nico now, she might not want to stop.

 

Maki pulls away, wincing as she unclasps her had from Nico’s to get out of the car. She takes the lead as they walk into the place, afterall - it’s her name on the reservation, not Nico’s. 

 

The man up front looks at both of them, his mustache moving as he crinkles his nose. When he glances at Nico, his jaw nearly drops. Maki suddenly remembers that she’s dating a super idol; or not remembers, because remembering implies forgetting and that isn’t something you just forget. But it clicks. 

 

“I--uh,” he laughs, wipes a bead of sweat off of his forehead. 

 

“Nishikino, Maki for two at seven,” Maki states, her voice flat. 

 

Nico looks up at her, and then at him before saying, “Are you a fan?” She changes a little then, props her shoulders forward more, smiles differently. It’s a hard smile, like there is a definitive line between mouth, teeth and face. 

 

“I mean, who isn’t?” he gives the same nervous laugh as before, only now he’s completely ignoring Maki.  _ Okay… _ He fishes through his pockets and digs out a crumpled napkin. “Would you...mind? I mean - it’s not every day you run into one of the best idols in the world!”

 

Maki almost rolls her eyes. This restaurant is one of the top listed in the area, surely famous people come in from time to time. But then again, Maki’s never really gotten the whole star struck thing. Nico can be striking, but it has nothing to do with being an idol and everything to do with her being, well, her. 

 

“Of course, Nico would never ignore a fan!” she winks, this over the top gesture; and Maki finds herself annoyed. But then it’s over, and the man says, “Did you have a reservation,” to Nico. 

 

“Yeah, I just said that,” Maki replies.  _ Finally  _ he looks over towards her. 

 

“You two? Are together?”

 

“Table for two under Nishikino, Maki.”

 

He glances at both of them again, one eyebrow raised higher than the other, and then Maki really does roll her eyes. 

 

But, he leads them to their table. A small one in a dark corner of the restaurant, one Maki personally asked for to make the setting more intimate. There is a candle on the table, there is nice music, there is dim lighting - it looks like every movie Maki’s ever seen that features a date and she hopes that it’s good enough. 

 

The host takes their drinks. Maki gets water while Nico gets something that sounds fruity. It’s cute, the way she scans the menu, her eyes focused in and brow creased like she’s thinking too hard. 

 

“This place is nice,” Nico says, still looking at the menu. Her head pops up from atop it. “How’d you find it?”

 

Maki shrugs, placing down her own menu. She already knows what she wants anyways. “I like Italian.”

 

At that Nico drops the menu, places both of her elbows on the table as she leans forward. She bites down on her lip in a way that makes Maki’s stomach churn. “Why’s that?”

 

“Well, I like tomatoes.”

 

Nico tilts her head to the side. “Is that ‘cause they’re red like your hair?”

 

Maki’s lips tilt up even as she quirks one brow up. “That’s a ridiculous reason for liking a food.”

 

Nico places her finger to the edge of her mouth. “I like sweets because I’m sweet.”

 

“So you’re saying I taste like a tomato?”

 

“Well, jeez Maki, we haven’t gotten far enough for me to know that.”

 

Maki nearly chokes, her face turning bright red. It’s just that _how can Nico be so_ _outspoken_?

 

“Now you’re red like a tomato. You’re welcome.” She laughs, and Maki laughs too despite not really wanting to. 

 

The waitress comes back with their drinks, then takes the appetizers and meals. She’s tall and very blonde and - like the host - only looks at Nico. Nico orders spaghetti, and Maki orders Manicotti, and then Nico simpers and changes her order to Manicotti. The waitress looks between the two of them with the same puzzled look the host had, which once again, Maki sighs at. 

 

“Copy cat,” Maki says when she’s gone. 

 

Nico sticks out her tongue, only to then wrap it around the tip of her straw. She curls her lips around it, all the while still looking up at Maki, and Maki feels a flush reach her chest and neck. “I like the best,” Nico says, pulling her mouth from the drink. And,  _ oh - she so did that on purpose.  _

 

Maki finds that she doesn’t mind it because now they’re a thing, this is a thing. The two of them, dating - on a thing. Maki shakes her head and takes a sip of her water, her mouth a still dry. 

 

“So, uh - this is different,” Nico blurts after a moment. She twirls the straw between her fingers, grins up at Maki. “Right?”

 

Maki ducks her head. “Yeah. Different.”

 

“Maki doesn’t know what to do when she can’t torture Nico with shots, yeah?” 

 

“Well, you know - if you’d taken better care of yourself…” Maki leaves it hanging, taking in the gruff breath of air that leaves Nico’s mouth. 

 

Then Nico brings her hand up to the table near the candles, fips it so the palm is up. She looks at Maki, her eyes shining under the light, and nods down to her hand. Maki takes it, once again feeling that surge of warmth brought on by a flood endorphins. 

 

“Maybe Nico just liked Maki taking care of her,” she says, dragging her thumb along the line of Maki’s palm. Maki shivers. 

 

It’s awkward with Nico in this setting, but at the same time Maki feels like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like learning to walk. 

 

But when the waitress arrives with their food Nico rips her hand away a little too fast to be comforting, and Maki’s left cold. The waitress stares down at her hand until Maki gets the hint and moves it so the food can be put down. 

 

And then, the waitress turns to Nico. Maki rolls her neck back and lets a sigh escape from between her lips. “Can I just say your last album had  _ so  _ much heart,” she says.

 

Nico beams.

 

Maki closes her eyes. 

 

“ _ Thank you _ ,” Nico drags out the thank, it washes over her teeth and tongue, comes out crisp from the back of her mouth. But Maki smiles for the sake of it because she thinks Nico might actually enjoy this sort of thing. “It’s a pleasure to meet you-” Nico looks at the waitresses name tag, “Christine.”

 

“Ha - I - you...too,” she fumbles with the menus, dropping one on the table and blushing a bright red when Nico gets it for her. “Thank you. Meal your enjoy! I mean, enjoy your meal!”

 

“We will.” Nico winks again, and with that the woman leaves. 

 

Nico sort of glows then, her cheeks become rosy, her smile porcelain. Maki snorts. “Well that was something.”

 

Nico jerks her head over to look at Maki. “What can I say? Everybody loves super idol Nico Nico-”

 

“Don’t.”

 

“ _ Nii!”  _

 

“I’m leaving. I’m leaving and you’re getting the bill.”

 

Nico leans in and pouts. “I think you secretly like it.”

 

Maki does. “I don’t,” she says, her lips coming up into a half smile. “But it is interesting seeing you in action.”

 

Nico grabs Maki’s spoon, dips it in the soup and then brings it to her lips in one quick move. “Maki hasn’t seen Nico in action yet.” She puts the spoon into her mouth.

 

The flirting is something Maki still hasn’t quite adjusted to. Sure, she’s been hit on. She’s had vulgar things said to her by random men, she’s been cat called - but this is different. Because she doesn’t find Nico completely disgusting. Because she likes Nico - loves Nico. So when Nico flirts she feels her skin burn, feels her hands start to sweat. Maki clears her throat as Nico pulls the spoon out from between her lips. 

 

“That’s gross.” Nico nods at the tomato soup in front of Maki, her nose scrunching as she hands the spoon back. 

 

“No one asked you to try it,” she huffs before dipping the spoon into the soup again. When she places it to her mouth she almost expects it to taste like Nico, but it doesn’t. Though, it smells vaguely of spearmint. She grins into it. 

 

“I was being romantic,  _ jeez _ . You wanna try mine next?” Nico wiggles a fork with pasta stuck to the end. She brings it forward until Maki’s practically forced to eat it. It’s a little hot, and Maki can feel the mild burn against her tongue - but as expected of this place, it taste amazing. She hums around the fork before moving away. “Good?”

 

“We have the same thing.” Maki deadpans, and Nico’s eyes widen.

 

“Oh yeah. So does that mean I don’t get to try yours?” 

 

Maki shakes her head and sighs. She puts food on her fork, but as soon as she begins leaning in, she feels a presence on the side of the table. She looks up to see a group of two girls and one boy, all of them are looking at Nico.

 

 _Cute_ , she thinks, and then slouches back. 

 

They go through the whole spiel.  _ Oh I’m such a fan, loved your newest album, blah blah blah.  _ And Nico gives her cutesy grin, indulging them. Maki tunes out until she hears, “Oh, is this your friend?” from one of the boys. He’s got a straight, narrow face and pretty eyes and is clearly gay. 

 

Nico glances at Maki, biting the inside of her lip. “Yes! “ she says, and Maki can’t help the way her heart kinda just...plummets. Nico mentions her name, the practice - but Maki doesn’t really care. 

 

In fact, she’s too confused to care. Friend? Are they friends? Or is this something with her publicity? Maki knows that it’s probably the latter, but it still irks her, even though it really shouldn't.

 

What irks her even more is that the fans literally won’t shut up. By the time they’ve been there for twenty minutes, Maki’s just about ready to ask them to, like,   _ go away.  _ And that’s when Maki hears the ill-fated call of her pager. 

 

Everyone looks at her. The fans, and Nico - Maki’s face colors pink. She chews on her lip, mutters, “ _ Shit,” _ and stands. “I have to go - the hospital.” Nico’s face falls, and Maki almost curses again. “I’m sorry - I’ll...call.”

 

“Right,” Nico murmurs, and with that Maki’s leaving. 

 

She wonders if Nico would even accept her call, and her heart begins to thud so loud she can hear it in her ears. 

 

**Date two:**

 

Place: Twisty Sweets

Time: April 12th, 2:00 pm

Yelp: 3/5 stars | Date: 5/5 hidden cameras

 

Nico’s upset with Maki, but she’s even more upset with herself, and how badly the date went even though at times it was going so well. And then Nico finds that she can’t really be mad at Maki at all - Maki left because of her job, and maybe if Nico would have politely asked those people to go they would have been able to spend more time together. Maybe if Nico hadn’t indulged anyone, they could have finished. Or if she wore that damn mask, or -  _ ah, there are too many or’s.  _

 

She  _ wishes _ she could just be upset with Maki.

 

She loves her fans, but some things - people - are more important, which is something Nico never thought she would believe. She hasn’t really had to make time for people in a while. Nozomi and Eli, her best friends, are part of her life and career, her family has always been there; but now there is Maki. 

 

Nico was surprised when Maki texted her. After that dreadful date she feared that might be the last of it, that she might’ve blown it. 

 

She sits on a bench, watching the water move slowly. Glasses press against her face as well as a mask so she won’t be noticed, though she can feel someone watching her. 

 

She looks away from the lake at the sound of a throat clearing behind her, turns and sees Maki with two ice cream cones. Maki stares for a good moment and then begins to laugh. Hard laughter, deep from the stomach. 

 

“What?” Nico asks, scowling.

 

“I love the new look.” She gestures to her own face with a hand before laughing some more.

 

Nico pulls the mask down and grins. “I was trying to go full incognico.” Nico glances around at the bushes. 

 

“Incognico?” Maki shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

 

Nico sticks her tongue out before darting her eyes towards the strawberry ice cream in Maki’s left hand. “Is that mine?”

 

Maki glances at both the cones. The other is chocolate. She hands Nico the strawberry one, making her way to sit next to her on the bench. “Think of it as an apology for leaving the bill last minute.”

 

Nico takes the cone, dipping her tongue towards the side. “Hey, can we walk?” she asks.

 

She watches the bob in Maki’s throat, the slender column of her neck. “Yeah.”

 

Both of them stand, idly walking on the sidewalk and occasionally brushing hands. There are a few people out, but not too many since it’s the middle of the day, so Nico leaves the mask partially off. 

 

“ _ I’m sorry _ ,” they both say at the same time. 

 

Nico chuckles. “I shouldn’t have--” Nico bites down on her lip before licking her ice cream again. “I should have gotten us a more private section somehow, or not talked so much to the fans. It’s just - I’m really not used to dating, and--” Maki cuts her off by shaking her head.

 

“No. I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do, right?” She swallows in. “And in any case, I should have mentioned that I was on call that night.” Maki ducks her head and blushes. “It’s kind of new to me, too.”

 

The air feels brisk against Nico’s skin, not too hot and hot too cold; dry. She swings her hand again, but this time comes up to hold Maki’s in a single move. Maki doesn’t make a move to let go. “So we’re both clueless, huh?”

 

“I guess we are.” Maki’s voice and smile are both soft.

 

“But you know,” Nico starts, “at least I didn’t leave a girl with the bill.” She tilts her head to the side. “Ah...I didn’t count on Maki to be so cheap.”

 

Maki gasp, turning to face her. “Well, considering the date was more between you and the fan trio.”

 

Nico looks up as if pondering, she places her finger to her chin. “You know, now that I think about it, one of them did eat your food. And the blonde girl was kind of cute.”

 

Maki bumps her hip against Nico’s as they’re walking, causing her to smear ice cream all over her chin. It’s cold and Nico can taste the sugar on her lips and teeth. “Hey!” she says, forming a pout when Maki begins to laugh at her. “ _ Hmm _ , Maki has some ice cream on her chin as well,” Nico says. 

 

Maki takes the bait, creasing her brows together and bringing her hand to her face to check for ice cream. She looks at her dry hand. “Where?”

 

And that’s when Nico does it. Afterall, she’s known for being bold. She takes the hand in her own and pulls Maki closer before pressing their lips together. 

 

Maki makes a small  _ humph _ before leaning in further to Nico, sliding her now free hand down to Nico’s waist. Maki taste like chocolate, mostly; her lips are cold and wet and sweet, but also just as soft as Nico remembered from when they last kissed in the office. When they’re close, Nico can smell the hints of lavender shampoo and conditioner mixed with body spray. She can feel the warmth of Maki’s body, her frame tight against Nico’s.

 

Nico runs her hand along the back of Maki’s head, tangling in smooth, red locks, then down lower to glide her fingers over Maki’s neck. 

 

Maki breathes into her mouth, the tiniest exhale. Nico pulls away, if only because there are people around.

 

Still, Maki rests her forehead against Nico’s for a moment, letting her eyes flutter open slowly. 

 

“Right there,” Nico says, swiping her finger against Maki’s lips and licking a small remnant of ice cream. 

 

Maki pulls her ice cream up, dabbing both of them in the face with it. Nico gasps and does the same, and soon neither of them have much ice cream left to fling at each other.

 

People are looking at them, and Nico thinks one of them - a younger girl - recognizes her, so she walks them over to the bench quickly, getting napkins on the way. 

 

Maki wipes her face off, and Nico scooches closer until their sides are pressed against each other. 

 

“Hey, Nico?”

 

“Yeah?” she says, tugging her eyes away from the lake.

 

“When you said we were just friends at the restaurant,” she starts, and Nico’s eyes grow wide. “Was that just a publicity thing?”

 

“Publicity? Why wouldn’t I want people to know I was dating you, I mean…” Nico pokes Maki with her elbow. “You’re  _ kind  _ of attractive. I guess. If you’re into that sort of thing.” 

 

“Then why--?”

 

“Because, being anywhere near me causes lapses in privacy. Nozomi’s been spied on God knows how many times in the years knowing me, same with Eli - and they’re just my friends, people who work with me. If they found out I was seeing someone? Especially a woman--”

 

“I don’t mind,” Maki says abruptly, and then covers her mouth. She swallows. Her cheeks are tinted with a faint pink that carries over towards her chest. “I mean, I know what I signed up for and I - I don’t want to hold back.” She looks pained as she says it, as if she had to pull the words out of her body by force. 

 

Nico’s chest hurts. She doesn’t know if she’s ever felt this sort of adoration, this feeling of safety; which is ironic because it’s also scary.  _ So so scary.  _ “You know, Maki Nishikino, I don’t think you’re good for my health.”

 

Maki twirls her hair and looks away for a second before turning back to face Nico. 

 

“Two nights from now I have to go to a premiere party. It’ll be totally boring and lame, but - would you wanna go with me? As my date?”

 

Maki kisses her, and Nico knows that someone is watching her. She doesn’t care. 

 

**Date three:**

 

Place: Gavin’s Gallery Premiere Party 

Time: April 19th, 8:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 3/5 really pretty girls not that Maki’s jealous or anything

 

There are cameras everywhere. Maki can’t even blink without opening her eyes just to see another flash beaming towards her. Some are focused on the other guest, but most are on her and Nico.

 

Nico who is at her side and waving politely with a vaseline smile. She’s very good at this, this whole making people believe that she’s genuinely enthused to be bombarded. And that’s when Maki realizes that she isn’t faking it.

 

Her arm is grasped around Maki’s side, and she’s not particularly hiding the fact that they’re a thing. Though it would be kind of pointless since in almost every magazine across the country there is a picture of them on the front kissing. 

 

It’s embarrassing, but Maki knew this would happen. Although seeing herself reduced to _the famous Nico Nico Nii’s new lesbian lover_ will never not piss her off. 

 

It annoys her father too. Or, a part of it does at least. He’d called to ask about it, and when Maki explained his voice had grown distant. He didn’t mention it much, and Maki doubts he will considering when he called this morning for her birthday the subject didn’t even come up. It’s a bridge she’ll cross later.

 

Nico hasn’t done one of the 10,000 interviews asked of her yet, but said she would next week once things cooled down a bit. From the looks of the paparazzi, the reaching of hands, the loud murmurs - Maki doesn’t see things cooling down anytime soon.

 

“Sorry,” Nico mutters out of the corner of her mouth. “I knew they’d be crazy but this isn’t even that big of an event…”

 

Maki smiles, nudges Nico with the side of her hip. “It’s okay.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I asked for it.”

 

Nico turns to face her, softens the edges of her lips into a more natural smile. She grabs Maki’s hand and gives it a tight squeeze before walking towards the entrance. 

 

The music inside is low. Not classical, but elevator; synthesized jazz that makes Maki want to cover her ears at first. 

 

“What is this all about by the way?” Maki asks as they edge to the door. The doorman looks at both of them, then lets them through with a curt smile at Nico. 

 

“Dunno. But Nozomi said it was important.”

 

“You weren't listening?” Maki says, her voice flat. 

 

“Hey! I’m a very busy woman, and in my defense - half the stuff that comes out of Nozomi’s mouth is--”

 

“What, Nicocchi?”

 

“Ah!” Nico turns to face Nozomi who is side by side with Eli. Both of them look amazing, not that Maki would expect anything else; but  _ wow.  _ “I was saying how important this event was for, uh, my career - and that you said so yourself!”

 

Nozomi sighs and places her fingers on the bridge of her nose. “I said that the event  _ wasn’t  _ that important, but might be good for publicity given that A-rise will be here. Tsubasa is friends with the owner.”

 

Nico’s mouth goes slack. “A-rise?”

 

“Did that conversation even register with you?” Eli asks, her smiling widening to show the perfect, white lines of her teeth. 

 

Nozomi tilts her head to the side. “No - she was too busy looking at her phone and grinning at the time. I wonder why that is.”

 

“Nozomi, I swear,” Nico says, her fist balling up. It’s admittedly amusing. She’s so small, Maki can’t really see her being able to take on a child let alone Nozomi. Her hands drop though as a taller woman with purple hair walks up to them. “Erena!” she says, her lips back up. “It’s been so long.” She gives a chalky laugh. 

 

“Nico,” Erena says back, though she looks more interested in Maki.  “And Maki, right?”

 

Maki’s face heats up. “Yes. Hello.”

 

Erena laughs, and Maki isn’t quite sure if she likes the sound of it. It’s forced up from the throat, dense. “I’ve - I mean, we all have been seeing a lot of you lately. It’s a pleasure.” She looks back at Nico who is stock still. Nozomi and Eli are still nearby, but have put a little distance between themselves and Nico. “Can I steal her for just a moment?” she says, looking back at Maki.

 

Maki blinks, registering that Nico is leaving her. “I - I mean, sure.”

 

Nico’s eyes are wide, almost like she wishes Maki would have said no. She gives a flimsy smile to Maki before following Erena off somewhere.

 

“What was up with that?” Maki asks, watching them stroll off. 

 

Nozomi giggles, and Eli turns beat red. 

 

“They um,” Eli starts, then covers her mouth. “Well, it’s probably not appropriate to talk about given that it was a while ago, and really wasn’t that big of a deal, anyways.”

 

Maki looks at Nozomi who answers with: “One night stand.”

 

“ _ Oh.” _ She adjusts the neckline of her dress, feeling hot and bothered but not in the sexy way. Like, she’s literally just hot and bothered - annoyed, frustrated. Not particularly angry at anyone because she can’t be, but angry at the idea. 

 

It’s highly illogical, so Maki tries her best to brush it off by smiling at Nozomi. 

 

“It was a long time ago. Nico just tends to get stuck up on it since they collaborate sometimes.”

 

“Right.” Maki turns away for just a moment, letting her eyes wander off Nico and Erena, both of them with their backs turned. They’re talking to someone, and even though Maki is all the way across the room she feels intrusive. “Right,” she says again.

 

“And well,” Nozomi looks around her to make sure no one can hear them, and Eli eyes her cautiously. “Erena is seeing Anju.”

 

“Who?”

 

Nozomi and Eli both kinda laugh at that before their eyes pop up. But they aren’t staring at Maki, they’re staring behind her. She turns to see a very pretty woman - well put together, polished - smiling at her. Maki feels like she’s seen the woman before, but can’t quite tell. Her hair is a light brown with bangs that cut across her forehead. 

 

“Maki, this is Tsubasa of A-rise.”

 

_ “ _ Oh,” Maki says. She still has no idea who Tsubasa is. She’s heard the name before, though. A-rise...it’s a music group, she thinks. Maki skimmed an article on them once months ago because it had something pertaining to Nico in it. “Hi,” Maki says, a faint blush on her cheeks. She hates not knowing things.

 

“Maki Nishikino,” Tsubasa says back, making Maki’s skin redden even further. “I’ve heard a lot of interesting things about you,” she says. “It’s very nice to meet you.” And then, daintily, she puts out her hand. It’s almost regal, like Maki is meeting someone truly famous - which, obviously she is; but she’s never really felt nervous because of that before. 

 

Maki takes the hand in her own and hopes that she isn’t sweaty or  gross. Tsubasa has a firm shake, but when she moves her hand she lets go slowly, caressing Maki’s in turn. Maki jolts her head up looking for Nico once again.

 

“You’re very pretty.”

 

Maki swallows in. “Th-thank you?”

 

“I mean I wouldn’t think  _ doctor  _ just by looking at you. Though, your father holds a very big name.” 

 

Maki nods, her throat bobbing. She feels as if she’s being eaten alive, though it may just be Tsubasa’s predatory gaze, the way her eyes are so relaxed. How calm her demeanor is. She flicks her eyes up and down Maki, and once again Maki looks up. Nico is still talking to Erena and some other girl. 

 

“Yes. He - our family owns the hospital down the road. Or not down the road, but nearby.”

 

“And you have a practice. Impressive.” She smiles like she is a cat and there is a canary beneath her teeth. Maki feels like the canary. “You’re young too. Hard working I presume. All of these tabloids must be a bother.”

 

Maki nods. “It’s very new, yes.”

 

Tsubasa gently places her hand atop Maki’s once again, lets it rest there. “I’m sure Nico takes good care of you?”

 

“I’m sorry, what?”

 

“What?” Maki hears,  _ and thank God  _  - It’s Nico. 

 

Tsubasa looks at Nico, and while Maki would think that maybe she’d jolt at the intrusion, her demeanor stays the same. If anything she relaxes more. “I was telling Maki that I hoped you were going take care of this recent tabloid crisis - or at least help her adjust.”

 

Nico squints at Tsubasa. Maki almost thinks she’s going to say something snippy. She doesn’t, in fact - she smiles. It’s not a fake smile either. Maki stares at both of them as if they were two creatures interacting on the discovery channel. “Of course,” Nico says before turning to Maki. “Maki, I wanna show you something.”

 

“Okay?” Maki doesn’t really have much time to respond before she’s being pulled by Nico. They only walk a few steps before coming to a stand still. “What was that all about?”

 

Nico looks over Maki’s shoulder to where Tsubasa is presumably standing. “Nothing as important as Maki.” Nico winks.

 

Maki rolls her eyes, though weirdly, her heart flutters - which is so totally gross considering how terrible that line was. “Smooth.”

 

Nico glares, but her mouth is curved at the edges. “A girl tries to be romantic...” she shakes her head, then bites down on her lip. Maki looks at the teeth clamped down around her bottom lip, then glances back up to meet Nico’s eyes. Nico’s looking at Maki’s lips. “I’m gonna kiss you, okay?”

 

Heat rolls through Maki’s body like liquid and she has to swallow in before speaking. “Because Tsubasa is watching or because you want to?”

 

“Both. That a problem?”

 

Maki leans in first with the faint knowledge that Erena is watching too; not that she’s super jealous or anything stupid like that. 

 

When their lips meet, Nico’s hand almost immediately goes around to Maki’s waist. She squeezes, her hands splayed out. There is a kind of claim to it that - though Maki would never admit it allowed - she likes. She likes being Nico’s and likes the way Nico’s lips press against her and how warm she is. 

 

How Nico’s tongue peeks out to brush her lip as she breathes against Maki. She likes how confident the kiss is; no she loves it. Nico doesn’t hold back, she just goes for things - the thrust of her tongue and how she drags it along the roof of Maki’s mouth. How she  _ teases  _ knowing that Maki will take the bait and always go after the chase of her mouth.

 

Maki hears the faint flashes of cameras, a few murmurs - but it’s all so easy to block out when she’s like this. 

 

Eventually Nico pulls away, tugging at Maki’s lip as she does and lingering to smile against her. 

 

Compared to that, the rest of the night is boring. They chat about meaningless things with people Maki doesn’t know, look at art, occasionally meet up with Eli and Nozomi - both of whom keep giving these little secret smiles to Maki. She’d find it irritating if she wasn’t still so affected. 

 

She doesn’t bring up Tsubasa or Erena or A-rise - but they do make out in the limo on the way to her place. Maki toys with the idea of inviting Nico in, but does not. 

 

**Date four:**

 

Place: Maki’s apartment / Fred’s Pizza

Time: May 2nd, 9:00 pm

Yelp: 2/5 | Date: 5/5 literal stars

 

So Nico gets busy. Really, really busy because, like, every major public entity wants to talk with her. She’s been on the cover of five magazines including  _ Out _ , been to four different countries for shoots and done 12 interviews. 

 

Naturally, she doesn’t really get to go out on dates - but she texts Maki at least once a day. 

 

Still, Nico gets lonely, or not lonely because Nozomi and Eli are always there, but, she finds that she misses Maki. A lot. So when things finally calm down, and Maki asks her out she says yes immediately despite how exhausted she feels.

 

Nico yawns just as the doorbell rings. 

 

Nozomi opens the door to her room without actually asking her if it’s okay. Luckily, Nico’s dressed. “Tired?” she asks.

 

“What do you think?”

 

She winks. “Might want to fix that. You never know what could happen, Nicocchi.”

 

Nico throws a pillow at her, but misses. With a small grunt, she stretches out all of her limbs, glances in the mirror for a quick check to make sure she looks good and leaves the room to go and get the door. 

 

When she answers it, Maki is smiling. It makes Nico’s stomach flip. “Weird not seeing you on a magazine cover with me,” Nico says. She’s sent links to all of her interviews to Maki, discussed what she can and can’t say about Maki when asked. It’s almost become a joke of theirs. The magazine covers, the interviews, them being treated like some kind of super couple all because of a few photos. 

 

Maki’s lips fall. “You’re tired,” she states. It’s amazing how she can just know from a two second glance. “Have you been taking proper care of yourself?”

 

Nico gives a sheepish grin before leaving the apartment so Nozomi won’t eavesdrop. “I’ll be okay. Nico is very resilient.” 

 

Maki chews on her lip. “You should rest.”

 

“Is that the doctor’s order?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And what about Maki’s orders?”

 

Maki stills. Her mouth opens as if to say something, but then closes tight. She looks away, a blush hitting her cheeks. “Would you like to - uh - rest with me? At my place?” Frantically she looks up, her eyes going wide, and Nico can feel a sudden jolt of excitement bounce through her body at the idea of going to Maki’s place. “Just to relax!” Maki says and her throat cracks in a way that is so cute it almost eases the minor disappointment Nico gets hit with.

 

“I’d like that.”

 

Maki’s lips twitch before she looks up and down at Nico. Her eyes glaze for a moment, linger longer than necessary in some places. “You should change. Into something more comfortable, I mean.”

 

Nico shakes her head and does a slow tut with her tongue. “First you ask me to go to your place then you say to wear something more comfortable. Nico has to watch out for Maki…” she teases, running into her apartment before Maki can respond.

 

In the end she puts on a pair of shorts and a tank top - something that’s cute enough for her to be seen in public with, but not exactly fancy. 

 

They walk out to Maki’s car, Nico making sure to brush her hand against Maki’s along the way. 

 

“So, speaking of doctors,” Maki says as they drive. “How are things going with Kotori?”

 

Nico perks up. “Well! She’s never once been mean to me unlike  _ certain  _ doctors. Also, I don’t think she enjoys hurting me - again - unlike certain doctors. Then again, maybe she’s just not as interested in seeing my pants drop.”

 

Maki’s cheeks turn a predictable pink, but still she replies with, “Oh, I never wanted to hurt you.”

 

Nico brings her tongue to poke the inside of her cheek. “Oh, really?”

 

“No. I just wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

 

“Cute.”

 

“Well, seeing as you’re on a date with me, I’d say yes.”

 

Nico sighs. “All that time I thought you hated me - who’dve known that from the start Maki just wanted Nico’s number.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Maki says, “As for wanting to see you with your pants down - considering that Kotori is seeing someone, I don’t think she’d be very interested in that.” She pulls into a parking space labeled  _ 5  _ in front of a large building. 

 

“Oh? So you’re finally admitting that you totally wanted to see my butt.”

 

Maki puts the car in park, then turns to face Nico. “Well, you do have this really cute freckle,” she says before getting out.

 

Nico’s mouth drops. It takes Maki tapping her fist against the window for Nico to get out of the car. “So, what’s the plan for tonight, Doctor?”

 

Maki enters the apartment lobby and walks to the elevator. “Pizza and something I thought I could show you.”

 

She’s purposefully vague, and Nico scrunches her nose at it. It’s not that she hates surprises, it’s just that she hates surprises. Or - no. She likes to know the surprise before she’s actually surprised, which is totally not the same as hating surprising.  _ “Okay…”  _

 

The elevator dings and Nico follows Maki until they reach the end of a long, narrow hallway. Maki opens the door and Nico is kind of surprised that her place looks so barren. There is a couch, a tv and a piano, but apart from that nothing stands out. On the beige walls are a few decorative paintings.

 

It’s tidy compared to Nico’s place - but then again, she lives with two other people. 

 

“What do you like on your pizza?” Maki asks, heading into the kitchen and getting the phone.

 

“Pineapple!”

 

Maki gives Nico a good and hard look. She blinks a few times -  _ slow blinks _ \-  and then narrows her eyes. 

 

“That’s disgusting.”

 

She dials the number before Nico can respond. 

 

Nico watches her order, watches her face scrunch when she says pineapple on the pizza, and then in confirmation -  _  “Yes. Pineapple. I know, disgusting, right?”  _ Which is ridiculous because pineapple pizza is delicious. Then Maki orders something with extra tomatoes that Nico doesn’t quite catch.

 

“You’re lucky you’re…” Maki looks Nico up and down, her lips parting a bit, “you.”

 

“And by that you mean adorable, amazing, spectacular--”

 

“Incredulous,” Maki cuts in. She smiles, then nods in gesture to follow. “Pizza won’t be here for another 30 minutes.”

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“Balcony.” Maki walks, and Nico doesn’t question it. It’s funny because Maki’s apartment is about the same size as Nico’s despite living alone. And Nico’s apartment isn’t small by any means. 

 

Nico looks around as they move. It’s nice, very minimalist, though, which is pretty boring. Idly she thinks of them living together for just a quick moment, thinks of posters and arts on the wall. Pictures.

 

Then she remembers it’s only the fourth date so she should probably chill or something. Kinda weird being head over heels for someone before dating them.

 

Maki leads them to a screen door that goes to a good sized balcony. There is a blanket, a telescope and a small frame, but that’s it. “Ah. Astronomy,” Nico says, looking at the telescope. “Nozomi is into that. Except she also likes to read tarot cards and palms too.”

 

Maki sighs. “That’s astrology.”

 

“They aren’t the same thing?”

 

Laughing a little into her hand, Maki shakes her head. “Just lay down, okay.”

 

Nico winks. “And then what?”

 

“Add obnoxious to that long list of things describing you,” Maki says. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.” 

 

Nico lies down on the blanket and watches as Maki follows. “So what exactly  _ are  _ we doing?”

 

Maki doesn’t look at her, only up into the sky. “The view from up here is great. It’s one of the reasons I got this place. Look.”

 

Nico does. She sees clusters of stars everywhere, it’s stunning. “Wow.” Nico breathes in deep, takes in the light chill of the air. “You do this a lot?”

 

“It’s calming. Sometimes I use the telescope, but this is more relaxing.” She huffs out a small laugh. “There are so many out there, it almost makes you feel insignificant. It makes me feel less pressure on myself. 

 

Nico turns her head to look at Maki. “You like feeling insignificant?”

 

“No. Not always. But every once in awhile it’s nice to see that there is way more than just you out there.” Her lips twitch up. “Well, you actually are a star, so I guess it’s different.”

 

Nico hums, but doesn’t agree or disagree. It’s an interesting concept. Maki’s an interesting person.

 

“Look over there, to your right.” Nico turns her head to follow Maki’s pointing finger. “There’s Leo.”

 

“I don’t see it.”

 

“See how that one forms the tail, then up to curve around - and there is the mane. It’s a lion.”

 

Nico sees it, barely. She connects the dots one at a time. It looks more like a duck than a lion. She looks over to the left to spot a different cluster of stars, begins to connect some others. “Over there is the Nico constellation, see?” 

 

“Huh?”

 

“Look, I made it up. There’s my hair,” she brings her hand up, “and then my face, and inside that I’m smiling.”

 

“Bit of a reach.” Maki turns to her, one brow lifted. 

 

“Hey! Nico has the brightest stars in the sky.” 

 

Maki chews on her lip. “Alright.” She stands, and Nico lifts up in confusion. 

 

“What?”

 

“Let’s mark it.” She walks over towards the telescope and begins tweaking it. “That way, when it moves - we’ll still have an idea.” She begins writing things down, though Nicio can’t see from the sheet. It’s totally dorky, but adorable at the same time. After a few moments she sets the telescope back into its previous position, then looks back at Nico. “What?”

 

Nico smiles. “Nothing.  It’s just that Maki is totally a nerd.” 

 

“Am not!”

 

“I bet you actually liked maths in high school.”

 

Maki blushes, then rolls her eyes before sitting down. “Maths are useful.”

 

“ _ Wow. _ ” Nico snickers. “Maki - the now girlfriend of famous super idol Nico Nico Nii - is a hopeless nerd who likes maths. Astounding.”

 

“ _ Ugh _ ... that word is so awful.”

 

Nico scrunches her nose her stomach twist at the thought of Maki not wanting to actually be her girlfriend, that she might already be ahead of herself. “Girlfriend?”

 

“Yes. It sounds so,” her lips purse for a moment, “juvenile. Like kids or something.”

 

“Oh!” She pushes herself up. “I bet you’re one of those people who like the word  _ lovers.  _ Maki, the  _ lover  _ of Nico.” Nico waggles her brows as Maki covers her face with both hands. 

 

“Stop. That’s even worse.”

 

“Okay, gal pals.” Nico leans in very close, her arms holding her body up. She hovers over Maki. “Maki Nishikino...would you do me the honor of being my gal pal?”

 

“Can we go back to girlfriends?” Maki asks, and Nico is so close that when she nods their noses brush. 

 

Nico grins, moves one of her hands to toy with the free hand at Maki’s side. Maki’s warm breath ghost over her lips causing Nico to shudder. 

 

Everything is either dark shadows or pale light; Nico never noticed how the night darkens the shadows and contours of the face until now. She never knew how beautiful it could be.

 

Maki brings her head up just a tad so that their lips meet, her hand gripping Nico’s hand. She uses her other to nestle in the back of Nico’s hair. 

 

The kiss lacks the tentativeness the others started out with. It takes seconds for them to divulge in opened mouths and wandering tongues. Nico likes to tease Maki, likes to dip the tip of her tongue out only to pull it away because it makes Maki more aggressive. She pulls down hard on Nico, making her nearly collapse. 

 

A laugh bubbles out of Nico’s throat into Maki’s mouth, and she can feel the vibration on both of their lips. Maki smiles into her before moving the hand in Nico’s hair down lower. She plays with the hem of Nico’s shirt, traces small circles around the bare skin of her lower back. And it’s horrible because Nico wants so much more. Everything feels too sudden and too late all at once. 

 

Nico pulls away from Maki’s lips in order to place kisses on the underside of her jaw. Kisses and bites and licks, and Maki’s skin is so soft. 

 

“What lotion do you use?” Nico murmurs into the crook of Maki’s neck. 

 

“Uh--” Maki lets out a breathy sigh. “Something with cucumber. Why?”

 

Nico bites down, letting her teeth sink gently into the pale, pliant skin and Maki hisses. In reaction - or maybe retaliation - she grabs Nico’s ass. Nico  _ knew  _ Maki had a thing for her butt. 

 

The movement makes Nico rock against Maki, which is decidedly  _ not  _ good since nothing is happening tonight, but Nico lets it happen anyways. 

 

She thinks of earlier when Maki said that the word girlfriend was juvenile, and Nico could laugh because right now they’re making out like a couple of kids. All that’s missing is the backseat of a car and cheap alcohol - both things Nico can happily do without. 

 

“You’re skin is so soft,” Nico whispers into Maki’s ear before taking the tip of the lobe between her teeth. 

 

Maki lets out a stifled moan, like she’s trying to keep it back in her throat. She moves her hand further up Nico’s back, drifting under the shirt - and then Nico feels her fingers against the strap of her bra. 

 

That’s when the doorbell rings.  _ Pizza _ .

 

Nico drops on top of Maki, sighing and pouting into the skin of her neck.

 

“I should go get that.”

 

“Nope. Nico’s never letting Maki get up.” 

 

“Never?”

 

“Never.”

 

Nico’s stomach growls, and both of them laugh. Then, with a sigh Nico rolls over so that’s she’s off of Maki and on her back. 

 

“Cheer up, we have an abomination of a pizza waiting just outside the door for you.” Maki stands up and straightens out her shirt. 

 

Nico stands up as well, pulling her shirt down on the way up. “One day Maki is going to try and it be so grateful and praise Nico every day because she was introduced to the most delicious thing ever.” 

 

“Don’t bet on that.”

 

“Whatever - oh, and Maki?” Nico says as innocent as possible with her eyes trained in on Maki’s neck. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

Nico brings her middle and forefinger to her own neck in way of gesture, then gives the most guiltless grin she can muster. A part of her is proud she left a hickey on Maki’s neck, and then she remembers that they’re grown adults, and then she sees the mark again and is once more happy. 

 

Maki grabs a scarf on the way to the door.

 

**Date five:**

 

Place: Eli, Nozomi (and Nico’s) apartment

Time: May 11th, 8:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 5/5 golden rings

 

It’s very sudden. 

 

Nico swings by the practice, all smiley and has this sort of glow about her. Tells her that Eli and Nozomi are engaged and there is this party and if  _ maybe maybe maybe  _ Maki could attend with her. 

 

And Maki isn’t sure why it’s sudden, but it is. She doesn’t really know Eli and Nozomi, which is probably why. In fact they’ve only all spoken a few times, but she’s happy for them. Really happy. 

 

Nico’s happy too, though she tries to play it cool. Rolls her eyes when they get all doey eyed, scrunches her nose. 

 

“They’re happy,” Maki notes, watching the two in the corner of the room. It’s an engagement party, but there really aren’t many people here. Family, mostly - a few friends who Nico talks with but doesn’t seem particularly close to. It does give Maki a good chance to look at Nico’s apartment. There are photos everywhere, nice furniture in some places, tacky in others. She wonders who picks what out. 

 

“Yeah,” Nico says. Nozomi brings a small piece of some appetizer to Eli’s mouth, and Eli blushes before eating it. “Also totally gross. Imagine living with this.” Nico’s lips tilt up and--

 

“Are you crying?”

 

Nico sniffs in. “What? Crying? No. If I’m crying it’s because they’re totally lame.” She turns to look at Maki, her jaw set and locked. And still, there is a smile. 

 

Maki bites her lip to stifle the up and coming laughter, covers her mouth. Really, it’s cute.

 

“What’s so funny?” Maki hears from behind her, and when she looks to where Nozomi and Eli were she finds nothing. She turns to then see Nozomi. 

 

“Nothing!” Nico blurts out. 

 

“She was crying.”

 

“I hate you.”

 

Nozomi giggles into her hand. “You know what happens to liars, right, Nicocchi?”

 

“ _ Ugh, _ ” Nico rolls her eyes. “I’m going to get to tofu bites. Want any?” She turns to Maki, and for some reason the whole thing makes her blush. It’s the smallest thing, and yet…

 

Maki clears her throat. “No.”

 

“Fine! More for Nico,” she winks and the brief sentiment is ruined. Nico prances off leaving Maki with Nozomi.  

 

“So…” Maki ventures, “um, who proposed?” she knows that it was Eli already, but --

 

“Both of us.” Maki quirks her brow. She distinctly remembers Nico telling her that it was Eli. “I knew Eli was going to propose, so I told her that if she proposed I would say yes - and then she proposed.”

 

“Oh - I,” she twirls a strand of hair with her finger. So weird. “How’d you know?”

 

Nozomi winks, then sighs looking out towards the table that has all of the food. Eli is back there, now chatting with Nico about something, her sister is by her side. It’s strange how alike they look.

 

“How are you two doing?” Nozomi asks.

 

“Uh - good. Good, I think.”

 

“You’re doing good,” she states, not a question, but an affirmation of what Maki just said. And, yes, Maki likes Nozomi, but there is no denying that she is exceptionally strange. Then again, she’s dating Nico Yazawa, who is also exceptionally strange. Hopefully Eli is at least half as normal as she looks. “It’ll be nice to see the two of you at our wedding.”

 

Maki turns her head to face Nozomi. “When’s that?”

 

Nozomi shrugs. “Elichi will want everything to be perfect, so most likely a year or so.”

 

And Maki gets this pleasant jolt at that, thinking about being with Nico for a year. Then it’s masked by fear because that’s a long time and what if something happens. 

 

“You’re doing good,” Nozomi repeats as if reading Maki’s mind. 

 

“We’re doing good.” For only a second Maki thinks about what it would be like spending her life with Nico - only a second. It’s reasonable, afterall. You shouldn’t date someone you don’t see a future with, right? She thinks it’d be a good future, a pleasant one. 

 

Nico walks up, her mouth full and a plate in her hands. “Talking about Nico?” she says after swallowing. There are crumbs on her chin, and instinctively Maki wipes them off. 

 

“Maybe. But while you’re here--”

 

“I’m always here. This is my apartment.”

 

“Anyways,” Nozomi continues, “I was meaning to ask - would you want to be my maid of honor?”

 

Nico doesn’t even tear up, she just goes straight to crying, though she still tries to cover it up. “I - mean. I guess. Nico knew Nozomi would ask, of course,” she sniffs in. “Who wouldn’t want Nico as their maid of honor.”

 

“So that’s a yes?”

 

Nico hugs her and it’s all so ridiculous. But maybe Maki is ridiculous too since once again she thinks that she could and would gladly spend her life with Nico.

 

And they’re only five dates in.

 

**Date six:**

 

Place: Private Beach

Time: May 20th, 2:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 3/5 seagulls (aka three too fucking many)

 

Taking Maki to the beach is great for a few (3) reasons. 

 

  1. It’s partially, privately owned (an investment she made two summers ago); so no one will recognize Nico since it’ll be just them
  2. Maki in a bathing suit
  3. Maki swimming in a bathing suit



 

And things start off  _ really  _ well because Maki can’t apply sunscreen on her back and - oh? The only other person here is Nico! It’s always nice to start a date straddling someone's back and rubbing lotion on them. Well, not anybody, just Maki. 

 

Maki’s skin is red, and even though part of that is probably the sun, Nico’s also pretty sure she’s blushing. Nico takes her time, too. Idly drifts her fingers over shoulders, upper back, mid back, lower and lower and  _ lower _ .

 

That’s when Nico stops because she’s probably being a pervert. Though, when she does, Nico  _ swears  _ she can hear the smallest sigh of disappointment. After a moment, Maki sits up so that she’s facing the water.

 

Nico jumps up, her hands on her hips, mostly out of happen. Posing comes naturally to her at this point. “Is Maki ready to get wet?” 

 

Maki smirks, and  _ slowly slowly slowly  _ she looks Nico up and down. Nico almost falters. “Is Nico?”

 

_ God _ it’s hot when Maki flirts. Nico winks before saying, “I’m about to. First one to the water wins!” And then she runs. 

 

“Wins what?” she hears Maki call, hears her growing closer - shit, she didn’t actually think Maki would try to race her. _ “Nico!?” _

 

Of course, Nico wins, and the victory makes her forget that the water is actually freezing. Still, Maki’s watching her and doesn't seem affected so she plays it off. “Ah, as expected the great Nico Nii wins.”

 

“You cheated,” Maki deadpans, her arms crossed over. She’s at the waist up. Nico - who is only a few feet further in - is nearing the chest. 

 

“Cheat? Could it be that Maki is a sore loser? Hmm?” Nico grins, walking in closer. “How about this; in consolation, Nico will let Maki choose the prize.”

 

“What?” Maki asks, and Nico comes in even closer so that they’re only a couple of inches apart from each other.  Nico licks her lip, tastes salt and water. 

 

“What does Maki think Nico should get as winner?”

 

Maki begins to lean in, and Nico can feel the heat of her skin, feel her breath when she says, “Well...there is something I could give you,” into Nico’s ear. 

 

“Yeah?” Nico rasps. Her eyes are closed, and she thinks Maki is coming into kiss her when suddenly -  _ splash.  _ She should have seen that coming. “Maki!”

 

“Thought you needed to cool down a little,” she says with her lips turning up into a wide smile. “Did I help?”

 

Nico shakes the water off of her as much as she can, wiping her eyes and mouth. “Yeah, actually. I think you did - time to return the favor,” she splashes Maki, whipping her whole body to generate as much water as possible. 

 

A splash fight begins. Neither can see since both have their eyes closed due to the salt; but Nico still manages to creep up on her from behind.

 

“Ah!” Maki spins around, laughing and wiping her eyes. “Did you just pinch my butt?”

 

Nico holds her hands up and shakes her head. “No. It must of been the sea monster.”

 

“Sea mon-?” Nico pounces before she can finish the sentence, dunking both of them under the water. 

 

Maki comes up, spits water out of her mouth. “I hate you,” she says. Her hair is all in her eyes, dips of dark red everywhere. She wipes it back - which only makes her hotter - and grins. “You’ve got something on your face.”

 

“What?”

 

Maki splashes water on her.  _ Fair enough. _ Nico shakes her hair, making sure to aim as much water at Maki as possible. “You’ve got something on your face too,” she says while wiping the hair out of her eyes. 

 

Maki quirks one brow. “Are you seriously just going to copy me?”

 

Nico’s eyes widen. “What? Nico would never copy!  That’s wrong.” She pouts. “I’m being sincere.” 

 

Maki touches her face in confusion, and just as she’s looking up Nico kisses her. She places  her hand on Maki’s face, presses her thumb gently into the dip of Maki’s the cheek before dragging it down. Unsurprisingly Maki taste like salt. 

 

Her mouth is warm from the sun, lips wet, body wet. Suddenly the water doesn’t feel cold anymore. Nico opens her mouth against Maki’s, lets out a soft sigh. 

 

“Did you get what was on my face?” Maki murmurs against Nico’s mouth before kissing her again. 

 

“Mmhmm. Let me just,” she kisses again, “and,” another small kiss. “All better.”

 

“You taste like salt,” Maki says. 

 

“So do you.”

 

“This water has billions of bacteria in it.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It’s gross.”

 

Nico smiles against Maki’s mouth before kissing her again. “We’re gross.”

 

“Really gross.” 

 

A wave hits them mid tongue and mouth, leading to a sputter of water both of them spit out. They leave the water. Nico needs to re-apply suntan lotion anyways, and judging my the red on Maki’s back, she’s past over due. 

 

For the most part, though, things are going great. That is until Nico lays on her front side, trying to get a full body tan. It’s then that she feels something wet land on her back. “Maki I just applied sunscreen.”

 

“Huh?” Maki turns, and Nico realizes that she hasn’t actually moved. “Nico...don’t move.”

 

It takes Nico a moment to realize what’s just happened. Her stomach sinks, her lips turn down, her eyes well up. “Get it off,” she murmurs. 

 

Maki shifts quickly to the lunch box where their napkins are. Somehow things are worse when she’s rubbing it off. Also, Nico is pretty sure she hears laughing. 

 

“Is it off?” 

 

“Almost - ah, there.”

 

Nico jumps up and darts for the water to rinse herself. She looks up and sees a swarm of seagulls, then runs back to Maki who isn’t even trying to hide her laughter now. “Let’s go.”

 

“Nico--”

 

“More are coming.” Nico looks at the sky and sees a circle of them. She grabs Maki’s hand and runs towards the car. 

 

“It’s just a bird--”

 

_ “Don’t!” _

 

“There was worse in that water,” Maki muses before getting into the backseat. The driver looks at them in confirmation, and Nico nods before putting up the divider. She lets out a loud breath. 

 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re ridiculous?” Maki asks.

 

“Me? Ridiculous? All the time.” Nico smiles at the small laugh Maki lets out, but then falters after she looks around. “Oh no. Our clothes.”

 

Maki’s face goes blank as she looks around. “I meant to grab it but with all the death by seagull talk I -  _ ugh,  _ let’s just go back.”

 

Nico looks out the window, still sees the flock from the distance. “Not worth it.”

 

Maki pouts. “But my clothes.” 

 

And that’s when Nico remembers that Maki isn’t wearing anything substantial at the moment, and well… “Maybe I can make it up to you?” she leans in. 

 

“Actually--” Nico stops at Maki’s finger on her mouth. She thinks about biting it, but doesn’t. “There  _ is _ something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Of course, you don’t have to answer, so don’t feel obligated, it’s just that--”

 

“What?”

 

Maki tucks a strand of wet hair behind her ear, her face glowing from sunburn. “There is a children’s event at the hospital in two weeks. It’s something we do every year to get parents to bring in their kids for physicals, shots, blood work before the summer really starts and our guest, some television clown I can’t remember, backed out, so--”

 

“Yes,” Nico says. She loves the way Maki talks about this stuff, helping kids, the hospital - all of it, there is a certain aggressive but soft passion in her eyes.

 

“I didn’t even ask yet.”

 

Nico presses her lips to Maki’s cheek. “I’ll do it, and even better - I’ll get A-rise to come. They owe me, anyways.”

 

“Yeah, about that - uh, what was that?” 

 

Nico bites the inside of her cheek, not sure if she wants to smile or frown. “Erena was talking to me about playing in a concert as the post header for something a few months down the road. And Tsubasa…” she doesn’t really know how to explain that. The simple thing to say is that Tsubasa was hitting on her because clearly she was but--

 

“Are the two of you friends?”

 

“Yes. Mostly. They came out a year before me, and helped a lot when my career was starting.”

 

Maki nods and then looks away.

 

“Tsubasa was wondering if I was trying to pull some media stunt,” Nico explains.

 

“Oh so the flirting -”

 

“No, I mean she was totally into you too, but she’s very strategic. With her things are like chess. For instance, her being seen with you would lead to a media stunt rivalry, which would lead to more press and higher sales. Of course, she didn’t know whether it was serious or not, so...” Nico shifts in the seat when Maki doesn’t say anything back, and for a moment she thinks that maybe Maki is starting to regret this whole dating thing. The politics of her industry, how things can work sometimes. 

  
But then Maki takes her hand. She doesn’t look at Nico, just gently twines their fingers together. “It wouldn’t have worked,” is all Maki says before slipping back into silence. 


	2. Part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ sexual content warning for dates 12/13

**Date seven:**

 

Place: Nishinkino General 

Time: June 2nd, 1:00 pm

Yelp: 4/5 | Date: 3/5 Nico’s 

 

Maki has seen like two different Nico’s today, and at the same time she’s pretty sure neither was actually Nico. Too short (ironically) and too young. She sees short(er) Nico for the fifth time in one day, watching closely as she ducks through the crowd. “Nico?” Maki calls out tentatively, coming in closer so she doesn’t attract a crowd. Not Nico turns around to face Maki, her eyes lighting up. Not Nico #2 is by her side, but upon closer inspection Maki realizes that he’s a, well,  he. 

 

Still, the similarities are uncanny, especially the girl. If she were just a little more mature… 

 

Maki jumps when the girl finally says, “Are you Maki?” She can’t be older than 16, the boy 9 -  _ maybe _ . “Sorry, I’m Cocoro, Nico’s sister. This is my - our - little brother.” She hits him with her elbow. “Say hi.”

 

He rubs his eyes, and Maki notes that they’re red around the rims. “I’m Cotarou. S’nice to meet you.” He sniffles in. 

 

Nico’s mentioned her siblings a few times, mostly in passing. She remembers Nico saying that her brother has anemia and wonders if he’s been checked out. If he’s half as bad as Nico can be, he should at least have his blood taken. 

 

Then the medical side of her brain turns off and Maki realizes she’s just been staring for the past two minutes while meeting (part of) Nico’s family. “Oh! Hello,” she falters,  “You look so much like your sister.” Maki forces out a laugh, wipes her palms against the sides of her pants. 

 

And to think she thought the resemblance between Eli and Alisa was weird. 

 

“You’re Nico’s girlfriend, right? You’re pretty,” Cotarou says, though his face is blank. 

 

“Cotarou,” Cocoro chides, but the he doesn’t seem affected. 

 

“Mama wants to meet you  _ so  _ bad. She talks about it all the time.”

 

“Sorry,” Cocoro says with a light laugh. Maki doesn’t really know her all that well but already her personality seems different from Nico’s, calmer if anything. Both of them actually. “We thought we’d surprise her by showing up since he needed a check-up anyways and--”

 

“We were trying to see if we’d meet you.”

 

Cocoro hits him on the shoulder and blushes bright red, as does Maki.  _ Oh.  _ She’s never had brothers or sisters, but assumes they’d be protective to a degree. Though this girl still seems pretty young, Maki’s tempted to ask her age but doesn’t. 

 

Before she has the chance to say anything she hears a voice behind her ask, “What are you two doing here?” She whips around to see Nico in sunglasses and a breathing mask. Her hands are on her hips and eyes narrowed. “Where’s the other.”

 

“We came here to meet your girlfriend _ ,” _ Cotarou  says just as Cocoro answers, “We wanted to see you perform.” 

 

Nico sighs. “Did Mama send you?”

 

“No.” 

 

_ “Yes.”  _

 

Nico narrows in on Cotarou, smiles - or Maki assumes she’s smiling by the way her face crinkles. “Ok! Well, now you’ve met her, you can go.” 

 

“Nico!” both whine. Maki stares between the three, still marveling at how much they look alike. She wonders what Nico’s mother and other sister look like. What her father once looked like. 

 

“Don’t  _ Nico  _ me, you can’t just show up and bombard Maki with questions she’s a very busy woman.”

 

“Actually--”

 

Nico snaps her head to Maki. “ _ Very. Busy.” _

 

Cocoro actually looks a little ashamed, but Cotarou only sighs. “You know Mama is just gonna call you tonight.”

 

“Yeah,” Nico mutters with a sort of petulance Maki’s never seen. She almost thinks to ask them to stay if only because the interaction is showing a whole new side of Nico. “Where’s Cocoa?”

 

“Um...out,” Cocoro says.

 

At that Nico pulls her mask down, she leans in closer. “With who?”

 

“Date,” Cotarou yawns.

 

“ _ With who?” _

 

Cocoro laughs. “Well, like you said - we should be going now. Nice to meet you, Maki!”

 

“ _ Wait! _ ” Nico says but they’re already starting to walk away. “Well at least get to your stop safely,” she says between her hands to make it echo. A few people look at them, but don’t actually walk up to Maki’s relief. 

 

Nico slips the mask back on as they descend further into the crowd. “So, how old were they?” Maki asks. 

 

“19 and 12.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“My other sister is 16.”

 

Maki shakes her head and grins. “I thought she was you for a moment.”

 

“No way! Her hair is lighter.”

 

“No it isn’t.”

 

“Yes, huh.”

 

_ Ridiculous.  _ Maki turns to face Nico, her lips twitched up. Just when she thought she was finally seeing every piece of Nico, something else turns up. 

 

Nico glances up at her and smiles back. “So how has the great Dr. Nishikino’s day been?”

 

“Pretty good,” she says, and then, “though I could do without all the doey eyes with Umi and Kotori.” Maki’s not normally around the two of them together since Umi stays at the practice and Kotori at the hospital; she didn’t even know the two knew each other until Kotori showed up at the office one day with lunch. But apparently they went to med school together, along with Honoka. Still, she’s not used to being around them as a pair. Not used to seeing the normally calm Dr. Sonoda turn into a blushing mess.

 

“Oh! At least you didn’t have to see Tsubasa trying to get Dr. Kousaka pregnant.”

 

Maki twist her head to face Nico. “ _ What? _ ”

 

“I don’t know how it happened but Dr. Kousaka came out here for three minutes and it was like Tsubasa had lasered in on her. I don’t even think she knew what was happening.”

 

Maki laughs. Probably not. “Honoka is... _ Honoka _ .”  

 

Nico clears her throat, then blinks slowly, seductively (she tries to at least, but one eye opens before another).  _ “Oh? So you’re a pediatrician, that’s so cute. _ ” She puts her hand on Maki’s elbow, crooking her fingers in the sleeve. “ _ I love people who can work with children. It’s just such an engaging quality.”  _ Then Nico makes a gagging sound. “But at least she’s not hitting on you anymore. Though her thing for redheads is glaringly obvious.”

 

Maki bumps into Nico with her shoulder as they walk. 

 

“Anyways, when is Nico’s check up?” she winks at Maki before running her hand down Maki’s arm and linking hands.

 

“I can get Koto--”

 

Nico sighs and shakes her head. “Special check up?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I’m saying we should make out in one of the free rooms, Maki.”

 

Maki’s eyes widen and her body heats up, not only with mild embarrassment, but also thrill. She should be a professional, though because she is a doctor and even if indulging Nico might feel good, it is her duty as a doctor to always remain clear headed. 

 

“Let’s go.” She takes Nico’s hand and leads them to room 47. 

 

A few people see them but don’t think too much of it as they walk through the hall. Though as soon as the door closes Nico places her hands on Maki’s face, pulling her into a kiss as she walks backward to the examination table. Maki feels a hard stop as Nico edges up and sits on it. Her thighs wrap around the sides Maki’s legs, crotch nearing Maki’s torso. And she’s so  _ very very warm. _

 

She sighs into Maki’s mouth. “Memories?”

 

“It hasn’t been that long,” Maki murmurs. She takes Nico’s bottom lip in between her own, tastes the artificial tang of flavored lip gloss. Nico’s hands run up and down her arms before finally coming back up again to shrug off the labcoat Maki’s wearing, her face resting against Maki’s cheek now. 

 

“Does Maki miss treating Nico at all?” Her voice echoes into Maki’s ear, low with soft, hot breaths in between the words. “I miss it.” She bites down on Maki’s ear lobe, the hard edges of her teeth scraping against the cartilage. 

 

Maki shudders, but still manages to say, “Do I miss an annoying patient that never did as they were told?”

 

And Nico laughs all the way from the back of her throat. “So you want to tell me what to do? Kinky.” She moves her lips to the crook of Maki’s neck and sucks. 

 

She’s going to leave a mark, and Maki knows that she should tell Nico to stop, but at the same time she can’t help but roll her head to the side because it’s  _ good _ . Her own hands are on Nico’s hips and she thinks about what would happen if she brought one hand to the hem of Nico’s skirt, what would happen if she trailed her fingers up the skin of Nico’s thigh?

 

Nico tugs at the sleeves of Maki’s scrubs. “These look good on you,” her finger drifts under the sleeve for a second, touching the skin there. And it’s such a small thing and place, but Maki finds herself exhaling to level out her breathing. She moves her hands back up to Nico’s face and pulls her into another kiss.

 

The door opens.

 

“Maki someone told me they saw you headed this way and--” Maki’s eyes widen and her jaw drops. She turns around to see her dad wearing a very similar expression. His cheeks are red. 

 

He nods at Nico, then looks back at Maki. “Come see me when you have the chance.” With that he leaves. 

 

Nico looks embarrassed as well. “Who was that?” she asks. 

 

“The other Dr. Nishikino.”

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

**Date eight:**

 

Place: Regal Theaters

Time: June 13th, 8:05 pm

Yelp: 3/5 | Date: 4/5 missed trailers

 

“I’m sorry,” Nico says for about the hundredth time and the night hasn’t even really begun but, like, she’s  _ really  _ sorry. On top of everything she’s also embarrassed because that was the first time she met Maki’s dad and -  _ sigh.  _

 

Maki chuckles before reaching out to grab Nico’s hand in the middle of the armrest that lies in between them. “I told you, it’s not a big deal,” she says, a little loud since the pre movie commercials are already playing. 

 

“Did you get yelled at?” 

 

Maki rolls her eyes and looks at Nico. “I’m an adult.” She bites her lip. “But yes. A little. Scolded is a better word.”

 

“ _ Ah.  _ So I did get you in trou--” Maki grabs her cheek and kisses her. 

 

“I told you, it’s fine.” Her lips curve up against Nico’s mouth.

 

“Oh my God,” Nico murmurs into the kiss, and then she laughs. It comes together quickly enough. “You liked getting caught.”

 

Maki pulls away, her eyes wide now; it only makes Nico laugh more. “I didn’t.” She crosses her arms and looks away while a predictable red burns against her cheeks. 

 

It makes sense though, in a way. From what Nico’s gathered about Maki, she’s always been ahead, always in the clear and golden. She probably never had messy teenage years with weird thrills like making out in theaters and getting caught by parents. It’s cute. Really, really cute. 

 

“Then what does Maki like?” Nico asks, leaning further into her. She hears the loud, dramatic intro to the movie but doesn’t pay much attention. 

 

Maki turns to face her, her lips still turned down but her eyes  _ shine _ . “You. Sometimes.”

 

“Does Maki  _ like like  _ Nico?” She continues to move closer.

 

Maki rolls her eyes and kisses Nico again.

 

And they pretty much miss the entire movie, though Nico still worries about Maki’s father and what it will be like when they meet officially. Ya know, without her tongue down Maki’s throat. 

 

He’ll like her; everyone likes her. Except for Maki that one time, but even then she totally was into Nico.

 

She shouldn’t even bother worrying. 

 

**Date nine:**

 

Place: City Fair

Time: June 25th, 3:00 pm

Yelp: 1.5/5  | Date: 4/5 missed ring toss

 

It was supposed to be a date with just Nico and Maki. Key word being  _ supposed.  _ The performers before A-rise -  _ ackers, otters, aquas _ ? -  something like that (Maki supposes she should keep up with the idol scene a little bit more); backed out due to touring conflicts. And then at the gallery Erena had asked Nico to be the fill-in as a favor for the fair’s big ending concert.

 

So - Nico automatically had tickets to the fair for all days, and decided taking Maki would be fun. Then Nozomi had wanted to go with Eli, and Nozomi had told Maki to bring friends. That she wanted to meet Maki’s friends. That is was - quote unquote - “important for them to all bond.”  

 

With that, Maki invited the girls from the office and Kotori by default. 

 

Now Maki finds herself with Nico and seven other people. It’s more of a group date since everyone is coupled up, Honoka being the exception.

 

Good thing she’s never been aware enough to notice the whole third wheel thing - well, now ninth wheel thing. 

 

Nico edges out and slowly puts on a mask to cover her mouth. She looks around a few times, lowers her glasses. 

 

The corner of Maki’s lip twitches.

 

“What?” Nico asks, slightly muffled.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Come on, I know you wanna say something.”

 

“The mask is actually pretty smart - this place probably has a lot of germs.”

 

Nico grins - Maki thinks she grins - and pulls out another mask from her pocket.  _ How many does she carry? _ “Maki’s gonna need one too.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Have you looked at a magazine lately?”

 

Nozomi appears behind them. “Nicocchi is quite right. The two of you are becoming something of a famous item.”

 

“I can’t come into the office without one or five men trying to interview me about you,” Umi says.

 

Kotori comes to her side. “Same with for me with Nico even though I’d never disobey patient confidentiality.” 

 

Maki sighs. “How tedious.” Maki knows Umi can be shy, it’s probably unpleasant for her, though Kotori had an idea of what she was getting into when Maki talked to her about having Nico as a patient. Maki will have to get even more security if the problem continues, maybe an extra guard. 

 

Eli grins and winks at her. “You get used to it.”

 

“But you know what you don’t get used to?” Nico asks, looking at Maki before facing Kotori. “Shots in the butt. When is that gonna slow down?”

 

Kotori laughs while Maki rests her palm on her forehead.  _ Idiot.  _ “There is a reason you need the B12, Nico.”

 

“But,” Kotori cuts in, “the treatment should only be necessary for another month, max.”

 

Nico pulls her mask down with the specific purpose of poking her tongue out at Maki. 

 

_ Idiot. Really cute idiot.  _

 

Before Maki can respond she flinches at the loud, “What’s going on!” Honoka shouts. In her hands are two small loafs of bread, one half eaten. There are tiny crumbs on the corner of her mouth that she doesn’t seem to notice. Hanayo and Rin are giggling and holding hands and in general being disgustingly couple-y, per usual.

 

“They had a rice that had chocolate and bacon inside of it!” Hanayo says.

 

“No ramen, though. But I did win a stuffed teddy bear!” Rin holds it out like it’s the greatest thing in the world before handing it to Hanayo and hugging her.

 

Maki wants to judge the display of affection, but can’t because Nico is holding her hand and slowly rubbing her thumb up and down the column of Maki’s finger. She likes it way more than she’s willing to admit.

 

As they walk Maki rarely lets go. 

 

The day is nice, not too hot and there is a light breeze out. When they go on the rides, Maki can always feel the wind beat against her hair. She skips the spinny ones though, especially after watching Honoka puke up bread loaf number one.

 

She also skips the ones that look like death, as do Eli and Umi (the only ones who appear to have sense). They become kind of a trio when the others go on the rides. 

 

Eli and Umi get along well enough; they understand each other. And Umi’s fascinated by the wedding plans as well as Eli’s career as a dance choreographer. 

 

“How’d you start with Nico?” Umi asks as they wait for something called the spinster to let out. It’s a question that peaks Maki’s interest, but one she never thought to actually ask.

 

“Actually - at first I refused because I thought it was silly. The whole idol thing. The dancing was so trivial; Nozomi is the one who finally convinced me.”

 

Maki looks over at her and bites her lip while thinking about her first few visits with Nico. “I thought that too, not the dancing - but being an idol.”

 

“I was surprised you didn’t reject her as a patient,” Umi adds in with a brisk nod. She looks up then to see Honoka smiling, though wobbling a little from the ride. Actually, all of them are kind of wobbly, except Nozomi and Kotori who only have wide grins.

 

“Maybe Maki had the right idea,” Nico says with a glower.

 

“Told you.”

 

Nico sticks her tongue out again.

 

“Your face is gonna get stuck like that,” Maki says and laughs when Nico slurps it back in. 

 

“Nico only did that because Maki would be devastated about not kissing Nico anymore.” She puts her hands on her hips and smirks. 

 

Maki nods. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

 

“Do you guys always flirt this much?” Honoka asks, and there is no scorn in it but the other girls begin to giggle, and Maki feels her cheeks burn - Nico grows quiet too before a small smile creeps up onto her lips. 

 

They keep holding hands regardless. Well, that is until a very animated discussion between Nico, Kotori and Nozomi starts about wedding designs, and Kotori brings up that she’s actually a pretty good seamstress. Maki almost makes a joke about surgery considering Kotori is actually qualified, but never pursued it. She doesn’t though, instead choosing to lag behind.

 

Eli lags too, walks slowly along side Maki. 

 

“Are you excited?” Maki asks to clear the silence between them.

 

Eli nods. “It’s a lot - Nico’s been _a_ _lot_. You know, she tried to book us for five dress fittings in a day? Along with looking at cakes.”

 

Maki nods because  _ yes _ , she knows - Nico talks about it, or it slips up. 

 

She cares so much, and she’s not very good at hiding it. 

 

“So you met Nozomi through Nico?”

 

“Yes. She saw my portfolio somewhere, and wouldn’t let up.” 

 

“What changed your mind?”

 

Eli lets out a heap of breath and chews on the side of her cheek. “I guess the truth. Nozomi just showed me how dedicated Nico was, and even if I thought it was all a little silly, at least she cared.” Eli pauses, then puts a finger to her lips. “Though it helped that Nozomi looks like Nozomi.”

 

Maki chuckles, kicks her feet against the ground. The day has been so hectic it’s nice to just stroll, even with the crowds of people still here. “When did you first tell her that you,” Maki stills, carefully brushing a hand through her hair, “love her?”

 

“You love Nico?” Eli asks.

 

“I--”  _ ah,  _ her mouth stays open but nothing comes out.  Has she ever said it out loud to anyone other than herself? “Mmph,” she affirms with a sharp nod. 

 

When she looks up at Eli, Eli’s gazing at Nozomi with such warmth. Maki wonders if she feels like her body is too full with blood, if her heart thumps too fast and she has short lapses in breathing. And Maki wonders if that’s what she looks like when her eyes are on Nico. 

 

“She just said it and I said it back,” Eli answers with a short chuckle, like it’s all that easy. “Have you and Nico -  _ um _ ,” and then Eli’s normally eloquent speech turns to stutters. 

 

Suddenly Maki understands. 

 

“No!”  _ Wait, _ she didn’t mean to say it that harsh because that no implies that she doesn’t want it, which - in all honesty - Maki does.  _ Badly. _ “I mean, not yet.”  _ Better _ . “Soon, maybe?”  _ Too much. Too confident. _

 

Eli giggles, which reassures Maki more than drags her into further embarrassment. 

 

“What are you two laughing about?” Nico asks, spinning around on her heel. 

 

_ Dammit how much did she hear?  _

 

“Nothing,” Maki and Eli say at once. 

 

Nico glares. “Weirdos.”

 

The day goes on and on until it’s darker rather than light outside. They play carnival games, and Maki enjoys them mostly because Nico is so  _ astoundingly  _ bad. Her brows always furrow at target games and she kind of does this weird little wiggle like a cat about to pounce. Then she pouts at the inevitable loss.

 

The best part is Kotori does everything Nico can’t with such ease only serving to frustrate her even more. She even beats Nozmi who claims to be using magic or something weird like that. 

 

And things get  _ really _ weird when Tsubasa shows up with neither a mask, nor the rest of A-rise. 

 

“Tsubasa!” Honoka shouts too loud causing a few people to stare which leads to Nico and Maki quickly getting the hell out of there.

 

“What was that about?” Maki asks, looking on from a distance. It’s hard to see with the crowd forming. 

 

“They’re probably going on a date tonight or something,” Nico says with a small shrug. 

 

Maki sighs. “I doubt Honoka realizes that.” But she leaves it because if anything were to happen, Umi and Kotori are there. She doubts that Tsubasa has anything malevolent planned, though.  Mostly due to Nico’s lack of reaction, and her own trust in Nico. 

 

“It’s nice finally being alone.” Nico grabs her hand and they walk together at a slow pace. 

 

It is nice, soothing. Not that Maki doesn’t like everyone in the group, but being around so many people at once is exhausting. 

 

“I think Kotori is going to design the dresses for the wedding,” Nico says with a grin. “She had some pictures of her work on her phone, and she’s good.” Then Nico huffs. “Not that Nico wouldn’t have done just as well finding a designer.”

 

Maki shakes her head, letting out a light puff of air. “Eli’s excited. I’m happy for them.”

 

“Me too,” Nico says before leaning her head into the crook of Maki’s shoulder. 

 

**Date ten:**

 

Place: Eli, Nozomi (and Nico’s) apartment

Time: July 14th, 2016 7:00 pm

Yelp: n/a | Date: 5/5 declarations

 

Nozomi and Eli (but primarily Nozomi, of course), are really starting to piss Nico off. She had said well over a week ago, “I have a date on the 14th, so go be gay somewhere else.” And yet, Nozomi and Eli are still here. Being gay. 

 

They watch Nico as she cooks.

 

“Hope you made enough for everyone,” Nozomi says.

 

“I’m starved,” Eli adds.

 

Nico looks over the tomato based sauce, which is now at a good simmer. Her eye twitches and she lets go of the stirring spoon. Slowly,  _ slowly  _ she turns around.  **_“I told you guys that I had a date tonight now get lost!”_ **

 

Eli’s eyes widen, her lips parting. “You do?”

 

Nico takes the apron off from around her neck and then turns to the two of them before pushing both out of the kitchen and then to the door. Nozomi struggles a little bit more,but even with Nico being the smallest she manages to get them to the door. Call it an adrenaline burst. 

 

But as if timed perfectly, Maki is waiting right outside when she opens the door, so Nico’s stuck with these two idiots fighting against her and Maki watching. She drops her hands so that they’re no longer on Nozomi and Eli. “Maki!” she says, letting out a large breath. “Hello!”

 

“What’s going on?” Maki asks, her voice steady but cautious.

 

Nozomi grins, and Nico already knows what she’s going to say. “Nicocchi was trying to kick us out for her date.”

 

_ Real fucking cute.  _ Nico’s gonna remember that. 

 

Maki frowns. “You don’t have to do that.”

 

“I thought it would be nice for us to get to know Maki better, don’t you think, Nicocchi.”

 

Nico forces a smile. “You already know her, Nozomi.”

 

“It would be kind of nice,” Eli chimes in. 

 

She’s got it coming too. 

 

“ _ Fine, _ ” Nico says. “I still need to finish dinner.” 

 

Maki follows her into the kitchen, leaning back on the counter, watching. “So what was that about?” she asks. Her lips are tilted up into a frustrating smirk like she  _ knew _ that Nico really didn’t want them there.

 

“One of the reasons I need to find another place,” Nico says. She stirs the now boiling tomato sauce before dumping shrimp into the other pot. 

 

“Oh. Right.” Maki’s voice goes distance, so Nico turns around. “With them getting married it’ll be weird, right?”

 

Nico nods, though she really didn’t want to think about this tonight. Especially in front of Maki because what if she comes off as some kind of U-haul--

 

“You could move in with me,” Maki blurts out, and Nico jerks her head up. Maki looks away, twirling a strand of the hair that’s now fallin in her face. “I mean, it will be a while, and my place is huge, and there are three spare rooms so…”

 

Nico smirks. “Okay.” She’s gotta play it cool, which is hard because the love of her life basically asked her to move in at some point in the very near future. That’s kind of, totally huge. Though unexpected. 

 

“...Okay?”

 

“Well, obviously Maki is so overcome with love for Nico that she wants to be around her all the time. How could Nico deny that?” she winks, but then her expression falls because Maki’s face has somehow grown redder, more serious. “What?”

 

Maki’s finger is now fully wrapped in hair from her twirling so much. “I do.”

 

Nico  sets the temperature down so that the sauce will only simmer, then turns to Maki. “Do what?”

 

“I--” she pauses, and  _ jeez _ her expression looks so pained. What did Nico even say that was so -  _ oh. Oh!  _ “Love you,” she continues. Nico drops her stirring spoon.

 

She pinches her lips together, her brow furrowing.  _ Well. That’s good.  _ “I love you too.” Nico says it simply, like she’s not confessing her feelings and more or so reaffirming that,  _ yes we do have milk in the house.  _ She picks up the spoon casually, only to come up and see that Maki is kinda smiling in the way that she’s trying to hold back a full smile. 

 

“That’s good,” Maki says.

 

“Yes. Good. Now, I gotta finish cooking.” Nico looks back at the boiling shrimp, sets them aside to make way for the noodles. “By the way, my birthday is coming up,” Nico says, as if Maki doesn’t know. “I was meaning to ask - do you want to go with me to see my family? Mama keeps telling me to bring you.”

 

“Sure. Maybe we should invite Nozomi and Eli too,” Maki says, and now a full grin has bloomed across her ridiculously pretty face.

 

Nico points her spoon at Maki. “Get out of my kitchen.”

 

“You gonna spoon me to death?” Nico wiggles her eyebrows and winks, making Maki roll her eyes. “Alright, I’m leaving.”

 

“Hey, Maki - wait.”

 

“What?”

 

“I love you.” Nico turns away and begins to stir the pasta, but her body feels warm from something other than the steam off the pots. She bites her tongue and forces herself not to say it again but it feels so natural.  _ I love you I love you I love you. I love you Maki Nishikino. _

 

“I love you too.” 

 

**Date eleven:**

 

Place: The Yazawa Residence

Time: July 22nd, 2016 6:00 pm

Yelp: n/a | Date: 5/5 Mom jokes

 

Maki has never actually met anyone’s parents before. Okay - stupid thing to think. She’s never met the parents of someone she was romantically involved with.  _ Romantically involved.  _ Maki bites the inside of her cheek, shakes her head. That sounds too detached, all things considered. 

 

She puts her fingers to her lips and thinks about the word love for only a moment. What’s it sound like, what’s it look like, the color. Maybe Nico’s eyes, Nico’s voice, Nico.  _ Ah,  _ it’s all out of order and the concept dazes her.

 

“Why are you so smiley?” Nico asks, and Maki jolts out of thought. They’re in the backseat of the car, so far they’ve been driving for two hours. Maki had no idea the place was so far away and now understands why Nico said they should probably just spend the night there. 

 

Maki forces her lips to drop. “I’m not.”

 

Nico leans in closer and pokes her side. “It’s Nico’s birthday so Maki has to answer all questions with complete honesty.” 

 

“That sounds like a rule you just made up.” 

 

Nico leans in further, shakes her head and pokes Maki again. 

 

And she’s not exactly ticklish, but the place Nico keeps poking is one of her sensitive spots. “Stop poking me,” Maki says, only to be poked again.

 

“ _ Tell me,” _ she sings. 

 

Maki decides to show instead and kisses her, making sure to grab hold of Nico’s hands so she’s not poked anymore. It’s short, but does the trick.

 

Nico sighs and places her head against Maki’s shoulder, keeps their hands grasped together. “Are you nervous?” she asks.

 

Maki shrugs. A little, maybe a lot. “Kind of. I’ve never done this kind of thing before.”

 

“I’ve never brought anyone to do this kind of thing,” Nico says before leaning up to kiss Maki’s jaw. 

 

Maki hums in content, laying back to rest. She nearly falls asleep when she hears Nico say, “Hey Maki?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“When is your birthday?”

 

“April 19th.”

 

Nico pulls away, and Maki turns to face her. Her eyes are closed as she breathes in, and then suddenly, she smacks Maki on the thigh. “You jerk! Why didn’t you say something? That was the night of that stupid gala event. We could have skipped it, you know?”

 

Maki rolls her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.” She hasn’t seriously celebrated her birthday since she graduated from college. It’s not like she really needs anything material wise - and having big parties thrown in her honor makes her uncomfortable. 

 

Nico however doesn’t understand that apparently, seeing as she huffs and scoots away. “We could have celebrated together, or something.”

 

“I--sorry,” Maki says, if only because she doesn’t want to upset Nico on her birthday. It still seems pretty stupid, though.

 

Nico lightens. “It’s okay, I’ll just remember this for next year and we’ll celebrate twice as much.”

 

_ Great.  _ But Maki doesn’t fight it because Nico’s entire face lights up and she rest her head on Maki’s shoulder once again. She guesses that she’ll just have to deal with it when it comes up.

 

Somewhere along the drive they both kinda fall asleep, waking up only when the car comes to a stop. Or, Maki does. Nico’s head is still on Maki’s shoulder and -  _ oh -  _ she’s drooling. It’s kind of cute, but mostly gross and Maki shakes her until she’ begins to stir. 

 

“Mhmm. What‘shappenin?”

 

Nico’s eyes are still partially closed, and even though they couldn’t have been asleep for more than 30 minutes, Nico looks like it’s first thing in the morning. 

 

“Your parents,” Maki states.

 

At that Nico jolts. “Oh!” she looks to the house, and Maki follows her gaze. 

 

It’s fairly small. Nico told her that despite the offer - her Mom didn’t want to upgrade houses, so Maki didn’t really expect it to be too large anyways. 

 

Nico squeezes Maki’s hand. “Ready?”

 

Maki hums before opening the passenger door. Her palm leaves a sweaty imprint on the handle. 

 

They walk up together, Nico ahead by just a foot. She’s relaxed, and Maki feels calmer seeing that Nico clearly isn’t too worried about what’s about to happen. She knocks on the door - a very loud knock, then begins to tap her foot impatiently.

 

It takes two seconds for the door to swing open, showcasing a woman who looks nearly identical to Nico save for a few wrinkles and thinner hair. She glances at Maki and smiles, and Maki just kinda stares with her mouth opened. She feels like a fish out of water, and not in the cliche way but in the way that her mouth is probably opened stupidly, gaping. 

 

Nico’s mom looks back to Nico, tilts her head to the side. “Happy birthday!”

 

“Mama,” Nico greets back as she’s stuffed into a long hug. 

 

She pulls away, then looks back at Maki, and before Maki realizes it she’s being pressed against Nico’s mom as well. “And you must be Maki Nishikino!” She lets her hands rest on Maki’s shoulder, distances herself so that she can get a good look at the both of them. Maki feels like she’s being analyzed, but not picked apart because there is absolutely nothing malevolent about the look. 

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you and my little  _ Nico Nico Nii!”  _

 

Maki’s eyes widen, and for once, Nico actually looks sheepish about the phrase.  _ “Mama!” _ Her lips press close together, brows furrowing, but she doesn’t actually talk back because she’s still trying to be respectful. Maki’s lip twitches up, just a fraction.

 

“Come in!” her mom says, motioning her hand inside. 

 

Their home is warm - almost uncomfortably so. Maki can feel her skin heat up, see the slight red on her hands. Nico seems mostly unaffected, though her skin looks a little pinker. 

 

In the house Maki can hear the chatter of somewhat familiar voices, and when her Mom guides them to the kitchen she sees Nico’s brother and sister. Sister **_s_ ** plural, actually. There are two, one younger than the one Maki’s already met. 

 

They all look up at her. The younger sister - the one Maki hasn’t met yet - stands up. “You’re Maki!” she says, and then looks down before clearing her throat. “I am Cocao, sister to the number one greatest idol in the universe,  _ Nico Nico Nii!” _ she props her hands up and does the sign, almost matching the energy Nico usually has when she does it. 

 

“So loud,” Cotarou mutters. His eyes are half opened and he looks as if he might fall asleep. Still, he looks at Maki, gives a clear, “Hello.”

 

Maki nods her head. “Hello,” she says before leaning into Nico. “How much did you bribe her to say that?”

 

Nico turns, her face showcasing one of the most over dramatic displays of aghast Maki’s ever seen. “I would never!” She looks at Cocoa. “Have you been practicing your idol poses?”

 

Cocoa nods before posing a few times. And Maki covers her mouth so that she can muffle the laughter, but really; Cocoa is almost identical to Nico in personality and appearance. The only difference is that her hair is shorter.

 

Nico’s mom comes in a few minutes later to put food on the table. She looks at Maki, waves her hand over. Nico watches the two of them but says nothing as Maki follows Nico’s mom into the kitchen.

 

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time,” she says.  “I’ve learned by now that the magazines aren’t always exactly truthful; but it’s nice to see her--” she stops, smiles at Maki.

 

Maki doesn’t really know what to say, though she can feel her cheeks heating up. She’s never actually had a conversation like this. She twist a strand of hair in between her fingers. “I- uh, thank you.” That sounds right. 

 

“You love her?” 

 

Maki nearly drops the dish she’s holding. “Yes.”

 

“Told her?”

 

Maki stops the fingers in her hair, unwinds and sees that she’s formed a tight curl. “Yes.”

 

“That’s good. You know, she’s never actually brought anyone here to meet us. At least no one she’s been involved with.” She lowers her head and winks at Maki before leaving the kitchen. 

 

_ What the hell? _

 

Maki doesn’t move, she looks at the archway to the main room, wonders just exactly what  _ kind  _ of questions she should expect from Nico’s mom.

 

But, as they eat - it seems like the intrusive questions go on hold for the most part. Maybe it’s because two of Nico’s siblings are fairly young, but it makes Maki breathe a little easier. Most of the questions Maki gets are about being a doctor, though Cocoa asks her multiple questions regarding Nico. Favorite song, favorite live, favorite idol group. Maki doesn’t have the heart to say that she doesn’t typically listen to idols, answering with “Nico” when the questions are brought up. Apparently it’s the right answer because everyone, including Nico, coos. 

 

They do presents after cake, though Maki doesn’t show hers yet - it seems like the kind of thing you’d give someone in private as unconventional as it is.

 

Most of the gifts are typical everyday things except for Cocoa’s gift, which is an autographed photo...of herself. Nevertheless, Nico seems pleased. She compliments Cocoa on her autograph and how better it’s gotten. Maki finds the entire thing both endearing and strange.

 

When everything is winding down, Nico finally mentions going to her room to settle down for the night.

 

And then, “Oh. Cocoa took your room, sweetie.”

 

Nico darts her eyes to Cocoa. “You...what?”

 

Cocoa shrugs. “Sis wanted the room to herself, so I moved.” 

 

Both Cotarou and Cotoro went to bed about five minutes ago, so Nico finds that she can’t really yell at anyone else. “But...my stuff.”

 

“Oh, that’s all still there. I liked the way you had it! Anyways, night sis. Night Maki.”

 

Nico’s mom steps further and places her hand on Maki’s shoulder. It’s a bit odd, like a weight that’s lying on her. Maki’s parents are affectionate, but never  _ this  _ affectionate. Especially not now. Looking over at Nico, she says, “It’s okay, you two can share the pullout. It’s just as good as a bed, though it lacks privacy.” She winks again.

 

Nico shudders. “Don’t wink. No, please. Mama. Stop winking. St--” after winking a third time, Nico slumps down, placing one hand over her face. “Fine.”

 

“Night, girls!” she waves, then heads to her room.

 

Nico runs a hand through her hair. “She’s so embarrassing, jeez. Eh - help me pull out this couch, I guess.” She nods over to the brown couch. It looks comfortable, but withered. 

 

Maki grabs one end with Nico on the other side pulling it out. “I have something for you, by the way. For your birthday,” she says before getting a tight grip on the mattress. 

 

Nico drops the couch and smiles. “ _ Oh _ ? What is it?”

 

Maki shakes her head. “Well let’s get the pullout ready first.”  _ Nico can be such a kid sometimes. _

 

“Fine,” Nico huffs as she lifts the other side, dragging it out and kicking the bottom so that the bed lay flat above the floor. “There!” she says before jumping on the bed and landing criss-crossed. “I’ll wait.” She closes her eyes.

 

“You’re a child.” But Maki laughs to herself while walking to the main room to grab her overnight bag. She comes back quick enough with an envelope in her hand. Nico surprisingly still has her eyes shut, but now her hands are folded out. Gently, Maki places the envelope down. She sits next to Nico and waits.

 

“An envelope?”

 

“Just open it,” Maki says. She looks only at Nico’s hands, the way she edges a nail under the crease and quickly rips it. Maki winces, but what’s inside doesn’t actually matter since it’s just a copy. 

 

Finally, Nico brings out the folded papers. “What’s this?”

 

Maki brings her fingers to rest on the bridge of her nose and sighs.  _ “Read it _ .”

 

Nico huffs, her cheeks puffing out as she does so. She reads the first page, the second, the third. “You got me a star,” she says, sort of breathless but also confused. “Maki that’s--”

 

“Stars,” Maki corrects. She clears her throat and brings her hand up to her hair.  _ God  _ she hopes that this wasn’t some stupid mistake. Too lame, or too cheesy or too much in general. “A constellation. Remember when you pointed out the cluster that looked--”

 

“Like me…” she says faintly. Nico looks over the papers again, then a second time, marking the details and print. 

 

Maki has the officials at home, along with the star chart and tracking disc. “I mean, I wrote them down and it wasn’t really that hard to get the actual certification. If you don’t like it, or don’t want the officials cluttering your space, I get it.” Maki continues to look down at Nico’s hands.

 

This was probably all too  sentimental. It’s just that at the time it seemed like a cool idea, but the more Maki thinks about it the dumber it sounds.

 

“ _ Jerk, _ ” Nico murmurs, and her voice sounds wet so Maki looks up to see that her eyes are red around the rims. 

 

“You don’t--”

 

“Of course I love it, I--” Nico wipes her eyes.  _ Why is she tearing up?  _ It doesn’t make sense. “You downplay things, but you,” she stops again. Her lips tilt up. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“You’re making me seem stupid for crying when you’re the one who just--” she gestures to the print outs while giving a wet laugh. 

 

Maki scratches the back of her neck. “So you’re happy?”

 

Nico doesn’t answer, instead leaning in and kissing her gently on the mouth. “What tipped you off?” she murmurs before kissing Maki again. 

 

“You’re bad at giving signals,” Maki mutters between kisses.

 

“You’re bad at reading them.” And with that Nico is putting her body weight against Maki so that both tumble back. Nico chuckles as Maki’s head lands with a soft  _ mmph.  _

 

She grabs hold of Maki’s face, runs her thumbs against the divots of Maki’s cheeks before dragging her hands lower. Maki places her own hands on Nico’s back.

 

The house is even warmer now, or at least Maki’s skin is with Nico’s weight collapsed on top of her. She’s already taking deep breaths, exhaling them into Nico’s mouth, against her cheek and lips. 

 

The way Nico is kissing her is more purposeful than normal, there is no teasing, no laziness in it. Every move she makes serves to say something and every press of lips holds weight. So Maki kisses back harder and drags her tongue to brush over Nico’s, lets her hands drift under Nico’s blouse as she grips against the smooth, heated skin. 

 

She moves her head up in an attempt to bring herself upright, but Nico pushes down against her collarbones before making a move to straddle her hips.

 

Maki can feel the tight stirring in her gut, and if they were  _ anywhere  _ else but here she’d be trying to take off Nico’s shirt. But as it stands they are literally in the middle of Nico’s Mother’s house with no actual privacy.

 

Maki pulls away and shifts her head up. “We’re in the open.”

 

Nico chews on her bottom lip. Her hair is in her face from the angle, cheeks flushed a bright red, eyes shining. Maki leans up to kiss her, purely by accident. Poor impulse control or something. She runs her hands further up Nico’s back, then down once more before pulling away again. 

 

“What are you doing Monday night?” Maki asks. Her face is still close to Nico’s and the breath she lets out drifts between the both of them.

 

Nico idly runs her index finger along the lines of Maki’s exposed collarbone, drags her eyes up; and for a moment Maki forgets where they are again due to the intensity of Nico’s gaze. “Did you want to do something?” 

 

“Date? My place.”

 

“I guess that’s what I’m doing Monday night then.” Her smile is now tugged into a partial smirk which is distractingly attractive, especially given how red her lips are. 

 

It’s helpful when Nico rolls off of her, lying on her back to the right side of Maki. Takes away some of the temptation, though Maki still feels the uncomfortable shift in her stomach that presses all the way down between her thighs. 

 

“Maki?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Nico turns to face her. “You’re talking about sex, right? For Monday? This is a sex thing?”

 

Maki lets out a slow breath and for a moment she tries to sink into the mattress, to disappear for  _ just  _ a second. 

 

She drags the word, “Yes,” out of her mouth both quick and slow, letting it linger on her tongue.

 

Nico shifts up. “Good.” She leaves a soft kiss on Maki’s neck and then stands up. “Time to get ready for bed, then! Nico has a very strict regimine so that she can stay at her best!” And she prances off as if nothing just happened. 

 

Maki wonders if she’ll ever stop being amazing, confused,  _ thrilled  _ by Nico.

 

**Date Twelve:**

 

Place: Maki’s apartment

Time: July 23rd, 2016 8:00 pm

Yelp: n/a | Date: 10/5 very good things that weren't microwaved

 

Nico’s nervous, but mostly excited. Very excited. Like, who wouldn’t be considering what Maki looks like.

 

She rings the doorbell once, and Maki opens it a second later, which means she was totally waiting for the door. Nico looks at her watch, sees that she arrived three minutes early.  _ How long had Maki been waiting by the door? _

 

Nico doesn’t really care all that much when she gets a good, long look at Maki. She’s all dressed up, the whole little black dress thing in full effect. It’s hot obviously, but also  _ cute _ . It isn’t like they’re going anywhere. Nico hopes they aren’t going anywhere, at least. That wasn’t part of the plan, and they texted a lot over the plan. 

 

Nico steps closer, closes the door behind her and leans in to place a quick kiss on Maki’s lips. “Hi,” she says.

 

Maki blushes. “Hi.”

 

Two seconds of silence pass.

 

Screw it. 

 

Nico kisses Maki again. She places her hands to Maki’s cheeks, presses against her so that their bodies are flushed. They’re going to do this.  _ Really  _ do this. 

 

She’s thought about it all day. It’s taken everything for her not to touch herself, which is saying a lot because it’s not like Nico isn’t a busy woman. She doesn’t exactly have time to linger and be bored. But all day her head has just been Maki _. _

 

Nico sighs into Maki’s mouth before sliding her tongue against Maki’s lower lip. She lets her hands fall lower until she can get a firm grip on Maki’s ass. 

 

Maki stills, her eyes fluttering and lips parting; Nico wants to see more but is suddenly distracted by the shrill sound of a timer going off. Maki swallows in. “The food is ready.”

 

“You cooked?”

 

Maki twines a hand into her hair and brushes it back. “Kind of,” she answers. “You wanna sit and I’ll bring it out?” She walks away without waiting for an answer. 

 

“Kind of?” Nico asks, shaking her head - but she goes to the kitchen table and sits nonetheless. 

 

Maki comes out with two plates of something that’s steaming. It looks like steak. “So you did or didn’t cook it?”

 

Maki tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before pushing a plate towards Nico. She mumbles something quickly and sits down in her chair.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I microwaved it,” she mutters once more, but this time Nico can actually hear her. 

 

She looks at the steak. It’s very wet, and puffy; there is some kind of strange sauce on top. “You microwaved...a steak? How is that even possible, is it, like, cooked all the way?”

 

“It’s from the freezer.”

 

Nico looks at the steak again. Freezer food. “You made me freezer food for our date? Freezer food. Really?”

 

“Hey!” she starts, and her mouth stays open like she’s trying to figure out what to say next. She closes it for a second, then opens back up, “The box said it’s just as good as real steak…”

 

“Maki?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can you cook?”

 

Maki looks down and takes a deliberate bite out of her steak. 

 

Nico laughs. “Oh? So there is something the great Dr. Nishikino can’t do, huh?”

 

“I can cook! Probably...I’ve just never had the opportunity, or needed to,” she huffs before taking another bite. Nico thinks it’s for show for a second - and part of it probably is - but at the same time, Maki just said she never needed to cook.

 

“Wait? So this crap is all you eat?” Maki doesn’t answer, only continues to chew the ‘steak’. “Well that’s no good. Nico will just have to teach Maki how to cook one of these days.”

 

Maki drops her fork, grabs the napkin to the side of her plate and wipes the corner of her mouth. “What?”

 

“I’ll teach you,” Nico says, then sighs a moment later. “Though I guess that it’s going to be up to me to get the groceries when we live together if this is the kinda crap you get.”

 

Maki bites her lip to suppress a smile, but her lips tilt up regardless. She looks at her plate. “You can move in whenever you want,” she says, and Nico jolts her head up. Maki seems to realize what she’s said a second too late and her eyes widen. But Nico doesn’t want her to take it back, finds that she wants to take everything Maki offers; wants to love and be loved greedily. “I mean, it’s not a big deal or anything. You know, if -- if you needed to move in early.”

 

“And if I want to, but don’t need to?” Nico asks. She presses her fork around the steak but doesn’t actually eat any. 

 

Maki twirls her hair. Nico sees a strand fall on her plate, one red piece amongst brown muck. “That would be okay too.”

 

“Okay,” Nico says. “Are you done with your steak?”

 

Maki looks down. “Yes. Why? Are you done with yours?”

 

“I ate before I got here.”

 

“Oh,” Maki says before repeating it, this time slowly, “ _ Oh. _ ” She swallows. “Right.”

 

Maki’s nervous, Nico can see it in the way she continues to twirl her hair. Nico’s kinda nervous too, but it’s a good nervous. Like pre-live nervous.  _ Oh _ \- maybe bad to compare sex with performing a live show. Too sports metaphor-y, like those guys who call everything bases and stuff. But what Nico feels is definitely a positive kind of energy; what is it that Nozomi would say? -  _ Chi? _

 

Whatever the case, Nico’s confident. Mostly. She stands up and takes both her and Maki’s dishes to the sink, mainly to give Maki (and herself) a moment to adjust and think.

 

When she comes back, she goes directly to Maki and kisses her. Maki’s body is stiff, her shoulders ridged, so Nico places her hands on them and rubs down. She feels the heat on Maki’s arms, the way her skin prickles.  _ Slowly slowly slowly _ , Nico brings her hands down to Maki’s wrist and grabs them. Her pulse is fast

 

“Do you want me?” she asks against Maki’s mouth, simple but needy; almost a plea. The air between them is damp; Maki’s lips wet against her own.

 

“Yes,” Maki croaks, lacing her hands up so that they twine with Nico’s. And they _ fit so well _ together, Nico nearly hisses when she lets go. Maki kisses her slowly. She rests her forehead against Nico’s, finally gets to placing her hands on the divots of Nico’s hips. 

 

“Say it,” Nico murmurs into Maki’s opened mouth. She dodges the attempt at kissing her again, then comes up to nuzzle her nose against Maki’s.

 

“Why are you so annoying?”

 

Nico bites Maki’s lip and tugs before letting it go and ducking away from another kiss. It’s fun to watch Maki get worked up like this, to feel her fingers press harder into Nico’s side, the intoxicating claim of it. “All you have to do is say it,” Nico sings. 

 

Maki looks Nico in the eye, then drags her gaze down to Nico’s lips. When she looks at Nico again there’s something primal in her stare. Her pupils are blown, shining. She moves her head to the left of Nico and places a soft kiss on her neck, and another just above that and another and another, all until she’s at Nico’s now red ear. “I wouldn’t have worn this dress if I didn’t. But if you want to hear it so badly,” she teases the tip of cartilage with her teeth, “I  _ want  _ you.”

 

Fuck _. _

 

Nico kisses Maki, and she’s glad that no trace of that god awful freezer steak is on Maki’s tongue. She’s also glad that Maki’s dress is relatively short because her arms aren’t the longest. She runs her fingers along the hem of the dress, inches higher before dipping lower and coming back up again.

 

“How bad?” she asks, hiking the dress up. She runs her nails along Maki’s inner thigh, lightly but with intent, with promise, with  _ care. _

 

“See for yourself.”

 

Nico does, dragging two fingers up the front of Maki’s underwear. They’re damp. And Nico feels fire in her throat, growls in tune with Maki’s low whine. 

 

Nico does the same thing over and over again - steady and sluggish - while walking Maki backwards and kissing her. She feels as much as she can through the fabric,  _ takes  _ as much as she can; kisses with as much purpose as possible. Every move of her lips and flick of her tongue is noticed. 

 

All of this for Maki who is warm and wet and loves her;  _ wants _ her so unapologetically. Nico can feel Maki’s need almost as much as she feels her own beating fast against her ribcage.

 

They stop abruptly, and Nico notices it’s because Maki’s ran into a wall. Nico pins her body tight to Maki’s. If she focuses hard enough, Nico can feel both of their heart beats syncing adjacent together. 

 

“Lift your arms,” Nico says, placing her hands back to the hem of Maki’s dress. 

 

“And if I don’t?”

 

Nico sighs.  _ Why _ the hell does Maki have to be so damn stubborn?  _ Whatever. _ Nico pulls away from her so that their lips aren’t attached anymore, looks deep into Maki’s eyes. She’s challenging Nico, _ even now. _

 

So, Nico smiles and drops down to her knees in front of Maki. The challenge fades into confusion in less than a second. “Dress.” Nico hooks her fingers into the hem of Maki’s underwear, still looking up at Maki. 

 

Maki sets her jaw in this adorable way like she’s still honestly considering not doing it, all because Nico told her too. So obstinate, but so wet.

 

Slowly Maki begins to lift her dress up.  _ Surrender herself.  _  Nico watches carefully, sees smooth skin revealed, tinged with pink from blood rushing to the surface; watches as the dress goes higher, past her navel, past her black bra. The dress snags briefly over Maki’s head, and Nico snickers - but when it’s completely off, her hair is slightly mussed and she looks  _ messy  _ but in the best possible way. Nico thinks about how she’ll be the only one to see the normal well-put together Dr. Nishikino like this.

 

Nico looks down to her underwear, black as well. “Is this a theme?” Maki doesn’t answer, and as Nico drags down the underwear she comments, “Mine are pink.” The soft moan that Maki gives is almost therapeutic, it’s definitely one of the best sounds Nico thinks she’s ever heard - and she’s heard a lot of good sounds. But with Maki - unrevealing Maki who Nico sometimes has to  _ pull  _ things from - every time she gives willingly it’s a victory.

 

The underwear are discarded and kicked to the side, almost catching on the heel of Maki’s shoe - but not quite. And then, Nico’s face to face with bared Maki. She catches her breath for a moment at the sight. Maki is beautiful and glistening and  _ hers _ .

 

Nico takes her hand and places it on Maki’s, she runs fingers through fingers and squeezes gently. Then she latches onto Maki’s hips. 

 

She nudges her nose against Maki’s labia, then moves up - just the faintest touch. Enough so that Maki squirms beneath her hands. Nico almost squirms herself, almost shoves one of her hands down her skirt and underwear. 

 

On her knees and looking up at Maki, she feels like she’s at a shrine. It’s terribly sentimental, but Nico’s heart is beating so fast in her chest, and it’s like she can physically feel how much she loves Maki. 

 

Nico licks up the length of her, feels thick wetness crash over her tongue. “Maki?” she says with her cheek resting against Maki’s thigh. “Put your leg over my back. Spread.” 

 

Maki gasps, the tiniest sound coming out of reddened lips; and Nico beings to guide her leg so that it hitches over her left shoulder. The heel digs into her back, causing mild pain, but it also makes Nico’s skin only that much more sensitive. Makes her more aware of her blouse, her bra - the clothing that’s so tight against her. 

 

When she’s opened up more, Nico licks again. Maki sighs and looks down, her cheeks flushed and lips shining. She  _ begs _ in the way she looks. Her chest rises and falls. Nico almost wonders what it would be like if she placed her head against it, wishes that she could feel every single part of her all at once.  _ Later. _

 

Nico grazes her teeth over Maki’s clit, uses the tip of her tongue and flicks. From above she hears Maki’s breathing quicken, hears tiny  _ tiny  _ whimpers. She goes lower, thrust her tongue inside before coming up to stick the flat of her tongue above Maki’s entrance. Maki bucks, but Nico doesn’t stay there, coming back to once more to tease with light pressured whisks.

 

“ _ Nico, _ ” Maki grits out, and then Nico feels herself being jerked forward a hand in her hair and a heel digging even deeper into her back. 

 

Nico chuckles against her, lowers one hand from Maki’s hips to Maki’s thigh to Maki’s slick cunt.

 

She drags the thin tip of her nail up before plunging in with two fingers.

 

_ “Nico--”  _ Maki  __ gasp and begins to grind against Nico.

 

Nico can feel the orgasm, the way there is  _ more  _ of everything. So she removes her mouth from Maki; places her thumb on Maki’s clit. She kisses her lower stomach before moving up, carefully removing the leg from her shoulder. 

 

She wants to  _ see  _ everything, wants to be buried in the essence of her, wants to consume every detail of Maki’s face and how she bites her own lip just so she won’t scream. Nico pumps harder, moving another finger inside of her as she watches the reaction closely. 

 

And Maki comes  _ beautifully.  _ Her body contorts, the muscles twitching beneath pale skin, her mouth opens and she lets out sounds that are nothing but noise and release and  _ sometimes _ Nico’s name. It’s soft,  _ so so soft. _

 

Nico moves her other hand up and down Maki’s stomach before coming to rest over her bra. She squeezes and Maki thrusts harder; thrashes against Nico and strains her neck upward before finally letting out slower, more controlled breaths. 

 

When she looks at Nico again, it’s almost like she’s waking up. Her eyes flutter a few times, her face is relaxed. Nico pulls her fingers out and lazily moves them up Maki’s stomach, leaving a wet trail over her abdomen. 

 

“I love you,” Nico says in one breath. 

 

Maki looks awestruck. Her lips part and she analyzes Nico’s face. For a moment Nico is worried. Then Maki kisses her. 

 

“I love you, too.” Maki says. She starts to clumsily push Nico backward. “Take off your clothes.” 

 

Nico feels herself crossing a threshold into a new room, almost stumbles. She pulls away to see that they’re in Maki’s room. It’s a nice room, kind of bare - but nice. The walls are grey, the furniture black, the sheets a deep red. 

 

Maki kisses her again before shoving Nico back on the bed. She bites her lip and twirls her hair and  _ God.  _ Nico is going to explode. Nico drags her blouse over her head and throws it to the side, then kicks off her shoes before pausing. Maki doesn’t move; she watches, her eyes lingering on every single part of Nico’s body. Nico unzips her skirt, pulls them down her legs while keeping eye contact with Maki. She should feel self conscious; but there is nothing but sheer reverence in Maki’s gaze.

 

Nico almost says something when Maki continues to stare. But then Maki takes off her heels before climbing on the bed - on Nico. Nico feels like prey, like Maki’s about to swallow her, and honestly - she’s completely okay with that all things considered.

 

Nico wraps her arms around Maki’s back and quickly undoes the bra strap before Maki can start anything. She watches it slowly slide down, sees the full swell of Maki’s breast as they hover over her. She should have done this part sooner, all things considered - maybe should have tried to reach the bed before going down on Maki; but  _ fuck. _

 

Maki leans down and kisses Nico again. Kisses her lips, her cheek, her neck, her ear - almost every spot with gentle precision. All the while her hand begins to bring Nico’s underwear down. After that, Maki works on the bra. It’s front clasp.

 

Soon, Nico is left with no clothes and Maki positioned in between her legs. Maki presses against her, grinds down and the contact is so fleeting but Nico can already feel a gentle build stirring down deep within her abdomen. 

 

“You’re wet,” Maki says, like she just realized that it’s raining outside. Nico could laugh. 

 

“How could I not be?” Maki blushes,  _ really _ blushes. Nico grins and gives her a chaste kiss on the lips. “What are you gonna do about it, Nishikino?”

 

Maki takes her hand down in between them. She presses inside with two fingers, so slow that Nico’s body aches. Her other hand comes to rest over Nico’s chest, a thumb idly toying with her nipple. 

 

Nico pushes her hips up to meet Maki’s hand. “Faster,” Nico says, and for a heartbreaking second Maki stills. And then she pushes in again and again. Her palm rest against Nico’s clit and it’s  _ too  _ slow, but Nico’s eyes still roll back into her head. Her nails still dig into the skin of Maki’s back. She clings to Maki like the sick cling to life.

 

Maki begins to kiss her neck as she moves harder and faster, and Nico can feel her weight when Maki thrusts her own hips against her hand so that she goes in as deep as possible. 

 

A tight tension already starts to coil inside of Nico. Her stomach strains and she can feel everything but focus on nothing except  _ Maki Maki Maki _ . Maki lowers her head and wraps her lips around Nico’s nipple and _ bites _ . It hurts but the pain is so  _ good,  _ welcomed; Nico threads her hand into Maki’s hair and pulls her closer. 

 

Their bodies, the fluid between them, the heat - it’s all melded together. It is synchronization; harmony; love _._

 

She jerks her hips harder, and Maki’s hand holds onto her tight as she slams against her. 

 

“Nico…” Maki says, tentative. She looks down with unbridled adoration and adds a third finger.

 

Nico’s climax builds to peak quickly, then stays there. It’s like she’s fully grounded, fully merged with Maki - heat strikes through her and she shuts her eyes and everything is so  _ everything.  _ She could live with Maki’s fingers inside of her, with Maki on top of her, with them like this. 

 

Nico brings her hands to Maki’s face and pulls them together for a discoordinated kiss if only to taste Maki and be fully encompassed by her. 

 

After a few moments, Nico can feel herself coming back to reality. She sucks in a deep breath and exhales it slowly before breathing out Maki’s name. 

 

Maki kisses her, and Nico can’t help but smile into it. They kiss for what seems like several minutes, lazy kisses with no purpose other than to be close. Then Maki pulls out. She laughs when Nico gives a small whine and then flips over so that she’s on her back next to Nico. 

 

“Wow,” is all Nico can really say. 

 

“Uh huh,” Maki says back. 

 

Nico turns and kisses her cheek.

 

Both of them are silent for a few minutes, catching their breath. Nico thinks about how she could have sex with Maki for the life, go down on her for the rest of her life - how in general - she could be with Maki for the rest of her life. It strikes her quick and hard. 

 

She could really be with Maki for the rest of her life. All of it. Being old and everything. 

 

“Yes,” Nico says.

 

“What?”

 

“I wanna move in - I mean, soon. I,” she stops and doesn’t really know what she’s saying. 

 

Maki lifts herself up so that she can over look Nico. “You want to try living here with me?

 

Nico is going to hear so many u-haul jokes from Nozomi about this. Worth it. “Mmhmm,” she leans up and kisses Maki, gathers the strength to pull herself up and straddle Maki’s hips. “Nico can’t let Maki get too lonely here, especially when she doesn’t know how to cook.” 

 

A small chuckle revertebrates against Nico’s lips, but Maki doesn’t question it further. 

 

**Date Thirteen:**

 

Place: Maki’s apartment

Time: July 24th, 2016 12:00 pm

Yelp: n/a | Date: 10/5 counters to clean

 

The morning is a blur for the most part. 

 

Maki wakes up with her body sore - a good sore, but still sore nonetheless. She kind of can’t believe that she had sex with Nico  _ that  _ many times in one night. It feels excessive, but at the same time; she’s impressed.

 

And then things kind of start back up only minutes after Maki wakes because Nico starts to rub her back. Then lower than her back, then “ _ you’re wet.”  _ Before Maki knows it Nico is behind her with two fingers buried inside _. _

 

A few minutes later Maki finds herself lying down again, sweat slicked and starving. So, Nico goes to make breakfast. 

 

Still naked. 

 

Maki ends up getting her up on the counter mid set-up, and  _ well… _

 

It’s just that, Maki’s never wanted someone this badly. To the point where it’s intoxicating and she can’t quite think straight at times. She’s never been so affected by her name leaving someone's mouth, by fleeting looks, by simple kisses. Never wanted to constantly touch and be touched. 

 

Until now. Until Nico.

 

Maki wonders how the hell she’s going to manage since Nico’s moving in now. Like, now - within a couple of weeks now. She’s only halfway through breakfast and already getting flustered by the way Nico wraps her mouth around her fork. 

 

To be fair, Maki is almost certain Nico is trying to be seductive considering she hasn’t given up eye contact throughout the entire meal. 

 

“Stop it,” Maki says. 

 

Nico pouts. “Stop what?”

 

“You know what.”

 

Nico puts on this awful show of a confused face, making her eyes go wide and eyebrows knit, and Maki is mad because it’s annoyingly cute. “Nico can’t possibly know if Maki doesn’t tell her.”  She takes another deliberate bite, letting her tongue come out to clean the fork carefully. It’s not like they’re eating something messy either. Scrambled eggs don’t need that much forkplay. 

 

Maki sighs and closes her eyes for a few moments before opening them once again. And then she begins to slide off her robe since she’s already pretty much finished with her breakfast anyways. 

  
Mentally she reminds herself that she’s going to need to bleach about half of the kitchen. 


	3. Part 3

**Date Fourteen:**

 

Place: Maki (and Nico’s!) apartment

Time: August 1st, 2016 5:00 pm

Yelp: n/a | Date: ⅘ ...housewarming gifts

 

Maki’s wearing red shorts and a loose white tank top. Her hair is tied up and a dab of red paint is on her cheek and she’s only a little bit sweaty. She looks _good_ , flustered; but good _._ Nico looks down and spots the one freckle that rests near her mid thigh, then lower before looking back up.

 

“Harasho!” Nico jumps, she thinks she sees Maki jump as well. She turns around to see Eli holding a large box. “That’s the last of it.”

 

Nico then remembers that she has a box in her hands as well and has been blatantly staring for no real reason for the last minute and a half. _Oh well._ It’s not like Maki doesn’t like it.

 

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi says, walking in from behind Maki. She gives this coy smile, and Nico is already burning when she says, “Are you going to come in or do you want another minute to imagine Maki naked?” Eli laughs and walks past both Nico and Maki.

 

Maki blushes, and Nico can see her throat bob as she swallows in.

 

“I hate you,” Nico tosses over her shoulder while walking by.

 

“We’re just trying to help with the move. You can christen the place when we’re gone - that is if you haven’t already.” Both of the assholes laugh again, though Eli is a little more discreet about it.

 

“I hate you,too,” Maki says, then grabs the box in Nico’s hands. Her cheeks are still tinted pink, as are Nico’s.

 

Thing is; they have christened the place. Every room, multiple times for the most part. If Nozomi and Eli weren't here, they’d be christening it again.

 

Nico regrets asking for them to help.

 

“How much more of the room is left?” Nico asks as she walks closer to Maki. She licks her thumb and wipes the stray fleck of red paint off of Maki’s cheek; then snaps her head over towards Nozomi and glares because she can just feel that Nozomi is about to say something. It’s a sixth sense.

 

Nozomi sucks her lips in and raises her hands, but then Eli snickers and Nozomi begins to chuckle as well. Jerks.

 

The paint sits on Nico’s thumb, and for a moment she thinks about how she wanted pink for the bedroom, but Maki liked the beige. They’d compromised with a deep red. Though, Nico thinks the red is a little too dark now as she looks at her thumb.

 

Ah, well. In the end it doesn’t matter too much.

 

“It still needs another coat, I think,” Maki says, her lips tilted down. “It’s not thick enough.”

 

“I’ll help and Nozomi and Eli can unload the things!” Nico suggests, and she’s wondering how quiet and quick they can be if the door is locked and maybe--

 

“Maki’s been painting all day,” Nozomi says. “Why don’t I help, and Maki can start to unload with Eli.” Nico turns to Nozomi and looks at her for a good two minutes.

 

She decides then that she’ll just kill her.

 

“Come on.” Nozomi begins to walk towards the room leaving Nico with no option but to follow.

 

When the door shuts behind them, Nico snaps. “What the hell?”

 

“Shh,” Nozomi says then moves towards the bed. She digs under it, and before Nico gets the chance to ask what the hell she’s up to again, Nozomi grabs a wrapped up box from underneath the bed. “Think of it as a housewarming gift.”

 

Nico eyes her and the box skeptically. If it’s something she’s not willing to give in front of Eli or Maki, Nico’s not sure she wants to open it. “What is it?”

 

“Open it,” Nozomi says and passes it over. She winks. Not a good sign.

 

But Nico sighs and begins unwrapping it, surprised and relieved when it turns out to be nothing other than kitchen utensils. “Forks?” she asks, with one brow raised.

 

Nozomi blanches.

 

“Oh no,” she says, and at the exact same moment Nico hears a loud, _“Nozomi!”_

 

“Nozomi?” Nico echoes the loud shriek that is definitely coming from Eli.  She walks out the room and sees Maki wide-eyed and staring into a box. Eli’s expression is almost the same except there is more anger than embarrassment.

 

Nico walks forward until she can see what’s in the box and _oh._

 

_Oh._

  
  


Nico laughs because what else can she do? It’s funny.

 

“Nozomi you fucking-” she snorts in and laughs some more. Hard laughter, like her stomach begins to ache. It’s _just--idiot._ Nozomi begins to laugh as well. 

 

“I swear, I thought I grabbed the right box. I’m sorry, Maki,” Nozomi says between fits of laughter.

 

“When did you even get that?” Eli asks, and then she blushes. “Forget I asked.”

 

Nico walks over towards Maki, who’s a little less shocked and more confused now. “I’ll trade you. I got forks,” Nico says, staring into the box. She sticks her tongue to the inside of her cheek, thinks about saying that now they have two of each - but Maki’s already beat red. She’s not completely used to the embarrassment that comes with Nozomi.

 

“I--” Maki stops and chuckles. And Nico feels something deep in the pit of her stomach. It’s a bittersweet feeling. She’s going to miss living with Nozomi and Eli. Her best friends, two of the best people she’s ever met in her entire life. More than that; her family. But at the same time, Nico’s heart flips when Maki smiles, and when she rolls her eyes and mutters, “Idiot.”

 

“Hey!” Nico says putting both hands on her hips. “I'm innocent,” she pouts and shifts her head to the side.

 

“Nicocchi, you’re a lot of things, but innocent isn’t one of them.”

 

Eli pokes Nozomi with her elbow. “She’s not the one who gifted a--”

 

“ _Anyways_ ,” Maki interjects, her voice throaty and face red all over again. “I’m getting hungry. What type of pizza should we get?”

 

“Pineapple,” Nico answers.

 

“ _Disgusting._ ”

 

Still, Maki orders one.

 

**Date Fifteen:**

 

Place: Ekcs Steakhouse

Time: September 3rd , 2016 8:00 pm

Yelp: 5/5 | Date: ⅗ misunderstandings

 

It’s Maki’s idea to go out. Mainly because they haven’t in the while.

 

It’s just; it’s nice staying in. Maki’s happy staying in and so is Nico and they’ve almost got this kind of domestic thing going on now, which is strange but pleasant.

 

For instance, Nico cooks. Not all the time because she’s busy, of course. There are video shoots, photoshoots, studio recordings, rehearsals. But before no one cooked. And sometimes when Maki comes home Nico is there waiting. Sometimes Maki is waiting for Nico. Either way, it ends in a kiss.

 

Also, almost every night Maki is sleeping next to someone. She thought that it might take getting used to, but it’s been oddly comforting even though Nico does kick sometimes and almost always wakes up in weird positions. Maki’s lived alone for so long she just assumed someone else in the apartment would be a nuisance - and yes, there are some things that are annoying. Like sharing the main bathroom (Nico always, _always_ takes too long in the mornings).

 

But she’s happy. Consistently happy, stupidly happy; it’d be embarrassing, but for the first time Maki can’t say she cares all that much.

 

There’s also the sex. A lot of sex. It almost seems like every time they do something together it leads to sex - not that that’s _all_ they do but; it’s hard. Nico is always there now and she always looks so good and there is something about her that just makes Maki want to touch her.

 

It doesn’t help that the sex is good (great, _great)._

 

So, Maki decided that maybe they should go out. In public, to a place where they couldn’t do it. Not that it’s bad to have a lot of sex because it’s definitely not - but it’s also nice to just date.

 

And besides, Maki has news. Serious news.

 

“Maki?”

 

Maki jerks her head up from her plate and wonders how long she’s just been staring at her steak. “Huh?”

 

“You’re thinking about something,” Nico says with a tiny smile. She edges a small bite of food in between her lips. “What’s up?”

 

Maki returns the smile and sighs. “Work. Daddy is leaving for a few months to go on a lecture tour in North America.”

 

“Daddy?” Nico repeats and her lips form an irritatingly attractive smirk.

 

Maki rolls her eyes. “Anyways, I’m going to have to fill in for him, partially. But; he’s been hinting about his retirement for the last few months.”

 

“Mmm. He wants you to take over completely?”

 

Maki nods. “Which means I’ll be giving up my practice.”

 

Nico frowns at that. “You don’t have to.”

 

“What do you mean?” There is this apprehensive glimmer in Nico’s eye, which is new. Normally she just says what she’s thinking, which is annoying at times, but incredibly useful because at least it’s all out there.

 

“Do you want to take your Dad’s position?” Nico asks after biting the inside of her cheek.

 

Maki shrugs. “I don’t really have a choice. It’s something that goes down in the family - I’ve always known that at some point I’d take over.”

 

“That’s not what I asked.”

 

Maki pauses, she opens her mouth but doesn’t quite know what to say. Does she want it? She’s never really thought about that. “I don’t know. But - it’s my responsibility in any case, so it doesn’t matter.”

 

“I think it matters. I don’t think you should do something if it’s not what you truly want.”

 

Maki huffs, and she feels her face getting hot because it’s just _not_ as easy as Nico is making out to be. Like some trivial thing that Maki can just turn down. Before Maki can stop herself she says, “Easy for you to say.” Nico drops her fork and knits her brows together. “I didn’t - that’s not what I--”

 

“Yes it is,” Nico says. Maki can’t really tell if she’s angry. Her face is smooth, but she’s not smiling or frowning. But then she does smile, though it’s kind of hollow. “You know, I guess I don’t fully understand. I chose to be an idol and always knew that’s what I wanted. It’s different for you. You’ve been told to be who you are all your life, right?”

 

“Hey, that’s not - !” Maki stops herself. “Not everyone just knows what they want from the moment their walking.”

 

“And you still don’t know what you want?” Nico asks, and then adds, “I’m just trying to play Devil’s Etiquette.”

 

Maki’s about to respond and then she replays the last part in her head. “Did you just say Devil’s Etiquette?”

 

Nico cocks one brow up and tilts her head to the side. Maki forgets that she’s annoyed for just a moment. “Yeah? Like when you try to show the other side of an opinion.”

 

Maki starts to laugh, the tenseness retreating from her body. “Devil’s advocate, you mean?”

 

“Why the hell would it be called Devil’s advocate?”

 

“Why would it be called Devil’s Etiquette. That makes no sense?”

 

Nico rolls her eyes and straightens her shoulders. “You know, like etiquette to the devil because you’re showing the opposite side.”

 

Maki laughs harder. “It’s definitely advocate.”

 

“Etiquette.”

 

“Google it.” Maki crosses her arms and watches as Nico takes out her phone to look it up. Slowly her face falls.

 

She looks up from the phone and glares. “I still think etiquette makes more sense.”

 

“Uh huh?” Maki says, a little bit smug. No, a lot smug. Nico doesn’t answer, instead going completely quiet and eating. It’s strange and makes Maki uncomfortable and she wonders when she began to rely so heavily on someone else's approval. “About what I want…” she says, thinking it over briefly. “I don’t know. Not really.” Maki blushes and begins to twirl one piece of hair as her other hand fiddles with the end of her fork. “I want you.”

 

Nico smiles. “That’s good enough for me. For now,” she says. “I just...I don’t want you having regrets, or giving up something in order to do another thing you don’t want. I don’t want you to be unhappy, so before you make any big decisions, just, make sure it’s right. For you. Sometimes you have to put yourself first.” Nico looks at Maki, and Maki finds herself sort of transfixed by the set of Nico’s jaw, the sharpness of her eyes, the intensity.

 

“I don’t think I could be unhappy.”

 

“Well good,” Nico huffs, though her cheeks dimple and Maki sees her trying to hide a smile. “Do what’s best for you. Or else you’ll make Nico very upset.”

 

Maki quirks one brow up and leans back. “And what are you going to do if you’re upset?”

 

Nico pouts with her arms crossed, and then she grins. “More like what I won’t do.”

 

Maki feels her cheeks heat up and she swallows in, but doesn’t respond for a moment. “Okay,” she answers. And Maki doesn’t know if the okay means okay I’ll do what I want, or if it means she’ll think about figuring out what she wants. But it satisfies Nico.

 

“Alright. But speaking of your father, when do I get to meet him?”

 

Maki feels stupid, but she never really thought about that. Not sense the day he caught them. He’s never expressed interest in meeting Nico, which is sad but not unlike him. Her Mother mentioned it once though. “What about when he comes back?”

 

Nico nods. “It’s a date.”

 

**Date Sixteen:**

 

Place: Blasts Laser Tag

Time: September 27th, 2016 2:00 pm

Yelp: 3/5 | Date: ⅘ betrayals

 

This is war. People are betrayed and shot in the back, but there is no time for stopping because war is always war. War never changes.

 

Nico sighs as she flicks her mirror up to see if anyone is one the other side of the wall. It’s dark and there are neon lights everywhere.

 

“Anyone?” Nozomi murmurs from behind her.

 

“No.”

 

“I had to shoot Elichi.”

 

Nico sighs and shakes her head. “This is no time for going soft. We’re down 2700 points at the moment. Honoka is out and at the charging station, which means Tsubasa is probably there as well. Me, you, Rin and Hanayo are the only ones in the game.”

 

Nozomi sets her jaw, and Nico begins to lead them forward. Nico can hear _them_. Her hand is sweaty against the butt of the laser gun. When they get to the end of the wall, Nozomi nods to her left and Nico nods to her right.

 

“Meet me here in five,” Nico whispers. “If I’m not back...then go. Without me.”

 

“Nicochi--”

 

“We need to win this, Nozomi.”

 

Nozomi nods again and moves out, and Nico stealthily begins to move against the wall. There seems to be a small corner up above. Nico should be able to crouch there and wait for nearby enemy. It’s when she’s edging up to it that she sees red hair, and Maki springs before Nico has the chance to really get a good grip on her gun.

 

“Nico?” she says. Her finger moves off the trigger.

 

“Maki!” Nico takes the tiniest step forward so that Maki won’t flinch or shoot. Slowly, _slowly_ she lowers her own gun. “Maki looks cute with her gun and gear on,” Nico says, then winks after.

 

Maki gives her a blank stare. “This is my corner.”

 

“Are you really going to shoot me?” Nico bites her lip and takes another small step forward.

 

“That’s the plan.”

 

“ _Really?”_ Another step and they’re almost touching. Nico can feel the warmth of Maki’s body.

 

Maki swallows in and grips her gun tighter. “Uh huh.”

 

That’s when Nico makes her move, not reaching up to grab Maki’s face, but instead bringing herself closer so that their lips touch. It works. Between them, Nico feels Maki lower her gun.

 

The kiss is kind of hot, despite all of the gear, and Nico finds herself pinned against the wall’s corner with Maki’s tongue in her mouth.

 

It’s been well over five minutes.

 

Nozomi probably thinks she’s dead.

 

But, Nico isn’t here to make out with Maki. She’s here to win.

 

Slyly, Nico runs her hand down from Maki’s shoulder, to her breast to her gun. And then, the high pitched noise of player death blast from Maki’s vest. Maki pauses against Nico’s mouth.

 

“Seriously?” she asks.

 

Nico leans up on her tippy toes and kisses Maki again. “All’s fair in love and war.”

 

Make bites down on Nico’s lip. “This is stupid,” Maki mutters. They’re still kissing and Nico hopes that no one bothers to check out this corner. She should probably try and detach herself from Maki, actually.

 

“Your idea.”

 

Maki sighs against the corner of Nico’s mouth. “My idea was to get all our friends together, not play some children’s game.”

 

Nico begins to pull away slowly, though her hands still linger on Maki’s hips. “Is Maki mad because she was brought down by the great Nico Nii?”

 

Maki’s lips twitch into an unusual smile. Right about now Maki should be showing a look of disgust at Nico for saying that.

 

There is another high pitched sound of a player dying and Nico realizes it’s her. She turns around and sees Kotori.

 

Maki winks when Nico looks back at her. “What was that about love and war?”

 

Nico is a little amazed, maybe a lot amazed. There is this playful smirk on Maki’s face.

 

Great. Now Nico is going to have to go back to the charging station where Tsubasa is most likely hitting on an unaware Honoka. Oh - and they’re going to lose the game.

 

Nico glares at Maki, then Kotori. “This isn’t over,” Nico says to Maki.

 

“Still going to bring me down?”

 

Nico smiles and in a singsong voice says, “You’re gonna regret saying that.”

 

“Am I, now?” Maki really does look cute with the vest on, and the gun. Nico finds herself leaning in a little, not incredibly close like they were before, but so that her hand brushes against Maki’s.

 

“I’m still here,” Kotori says and both spin to find her smiling. She doesn’t seem affected, but the gun is held tight in her hands.

 

Nico rips her hand away and clears her throat. “Right. I’ll be...charging.” She bumps into Nozomi on the way to the charging station.

 

“Kotori?” Nozomi asks.

 

Nico nods. “Featuring Maki.” Though Nico can’t help the way her lips continue to twitch up. She looks down at the ring on Nozomi’s finger, looks up and sees that Nozomi is watching her.

 

Nozomi says nothing.

 

**Date Seventeen:**

 

Place: Party Town

Time: October 18th, 2016 12:00 pm

Yelp: 4/5 | Date: 5/5 costumes maki never got to try on

 

It itches a little, especially the white garters; and Maki feels silly wearing it. She wonders why she let Nico drag her costume shopping, wonders more as to why she agreed to costume coordination. “This is stupid,” Maki says looking into the mirror. She’s dressed in an off white angel costume, the dress is loose towards the bottom but tight everywhere else. It looks dumb.

 

“I like it,” Nico says from behind. Maki looks at her from the mirror, over the shoulder. She’s a devil, or demon - something like that. The costume actually looks good on her, a little too good, actually. It’s not even that it’s necessarily sexy - but Nico makes it sexy. Mostly it’s just a black, frilly dress with a set of tiny devil horns.

 

“You’re used to wearing over the top outfits,” Maki grumbles, looking back at herself.

 

“You’ve never dressed for Halloween?” She places her hands on Maki’s shoulders and brushes them down until her they’re on Maki’s arms.

 

“When I was little, maybe?” Maki tries to recall the last time she dressed up. She thinks it was around 16 when she was a witch for some Halloween festival thing. The costume was hot and she’d nearly burned up in it, so mostly she remembers the sweat.

Nico rests her head on the crook of Maki’s shoulder and smirks. Yeah. That devil costume is way too fitting. Maki shivers as Nico moves her hands down lower until they’re at her wrists. “No sexy costume parties in college?”

 

They’re in a fitting room, a private one that has a lock - but still a fitting room in a very public place. Maki keeps telling herself that even when Nico twines their hands together and keeps up that stupid _stupid_ half-smile.

 

“I was a little too busy in college to worry about things like that,” Maki says. She sets her jaw as Nico’s hands slip out of hers and move down to her hips. “What are you doing?”

 

“Acting the part,” she says placing a quick kiss on the base of Maki’s neck. “The exceptional Nico Nico Nii, greatest devil in the universe.” She winks and Maki is only mildly repulsed (maybe not repulsed at all).

 

“We’re in a fitting room, next to other fitting rooms, in a store,” Maki whispers, now aware that people might actually be able to hear them. She has no idea how thin the walls are - even if this is a higher up store.

 

Nico dips her hands below the hem of Maki’s dress and rakes her nails over the outside of Maki’s thighs.

 

Maki gasps and nearly falls, it’s hard to ignore the pulse she feels low in her belly. When Maki looks up she sees herself in the mirror, cheeks red and chest going up and down faster than normal.

 

“Can you be quiet?” Nico murmurs in the shell of Maki’s ear.

 

Maki swallows in and looks down so she can’t see her reflection anymore. Nico doesn’t move her hands but does place kisses on the back of her neck, sometimes she bites down and sometimes she sucks and it’s _extremely stupid_ to do something like this somewhere like this but Maki hears herself say _yes,_ feels the word leaving her mouth with a breath of air.

 

“Place your hands against the mirror,” Nico says, her breath hot and damp against Maki’s ear.

 

_So so stupid._

 

Maki does as she’s told, and Nico brings one hand to wrap around her waist. The other she brings close to the line of her underwear.

 

“This costume looks really good on you,” Nico says, innocently, like she’s not about to fuck Maki in a public place. Maki breathes in deep and exhales slowly so that she won’t whimper. But when Nico touches her through the side of her panties she really can’t help the shriek that comes out. Nico laughs against her skin before slowly dragging her fingers up.

 

“Quiet, okay,” Nico says.

 

“You act like I want to get caught in this posi--” Maki lets out a low groan when Nico plunges into her without warning.

 

“For an angel, Maki’s not good at following directions.” She thrusts slow and lazy, but _deep_. All the while the hand on Maki’s hip comes up until it’s near Maki’s mouth.

 

Nico begins to move faster, her palm coming into contact with Maki’s clit and it’s too much and soon Nico’s hand is fully covering her mouth just to mute everything.

 

Maki bites down. She hears Nico hiss a little but can’t bring herself to really stop. Her arms and body feel weak, and all she can focus on is the way Nico’s fingers curl up into her. There is also the smallest sense of panic that they could get caught, but for some reason it heightens everything. Gives her an adrenaline rush instead of making her come to whatever sense she once had before Nico Yazawa.

 

She comes and even with Nico’s hand against her mouth the sound is moderately loud. Her hips buck into Nico’s hand and she nearly falls because the weakness comes at its peak as well.

 

Nico grabs her hip again to keep her steady, holding their bodies tight together.

 

When it’s done, Maki finally removes her hands from the mirror only to see sweat impressions on it. Gross.

 

Nico laughs and turns her around. She brings her wet fingers up and puts them into her mouth in a way that’s clearly exaggerated given the way she licks. Maki’s caught between rolling her eyes and stripping Nico down. She chooses the former, relaxing her face as she does so.

 

“Well, I guess we have to get these costumes now,” Nico says with a long sigh.

 

Maki sets her jaw. “You wanted them that badly?”

 

Nico leans in so that their noses are nearly touching. “I told you; it looks really cute.”

 

**Date Eighteen:**

 

Place: Maki and Nico’s apartment

Time: November 23rd, 2016 12:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 5/5 yazawa’s in the house

 

Nico’s family is over at Nico and Maki’s apartment. It sounds nice. _Their place._ She’s thought about that a lot since she moved in.

 

Nico’s never really been one for sharing. She had to when she was younger - but once she was older it wasn’t necessary. The apartment she shared with Nozomi and Eli was spacious enough so she’d have her own bathroom and space.

 

But now she shares a bathroom and a bed, therefore - space. Nico doesn’t actually mind it, sometimes she even loves it.

 

She loves their place.

 

She watches Maki from the corner of the room, resting against a wall. She’s playing the piano since everyone (mainly Cocoa) begged. She’s singing too, and it’s funny because she’s singing one of Nico’s songs. An older one that’s almost unrecognizable by how slow Maki’s playing it.

 

“She sounds great.” Nico looks up to her left and sees her Mom, eyes focused and arms crossed. The look is almost passive, but Nico can tell she’s thinking hard about something by the way her jaw sets just a little tighter than usual. Nico does the same thing. “It’s serious, then?” The corners of her mouth tug upward. Nico nods. “How serious?”

 

Nico looks up and furrows her brow. Her Mom isn’t usually this vague - never this vague, actually. It’s weird to see her fishing. The last time she edged around an idea with Nico was around the time she was about to come out. “Forever serious, I think.”

 

“Think?”

 

“Know. I know.” Nico sighs and watches Maki laugh and smile at Cotoro. She smiles too.

 

Her mom leans in, brushing their shoulders. “Just know, I’ll be happy with whatever you choose to do. As long as I have grandchildren one day.”

 

“ _Mama…”_

 

“What? I want at least seven.” Nico jolts up, her eyes widen. There is no way in _hell -_ “From all of you,” she continues and Nico’s shoulders loosen but only by a little. “So does my little Nico Nico Nii know her next move?”

 

Nico cringes. She’s a grown adult woman, not some kid. But then again,there is a warmth in her chest, so she kinda leans in. Nico’s hugged tightly and when she looks up she can see Maki facing her. The music has stopped, but the room is still loud from everyone chattering.

 

Maki gives a soft smile and short nod before looking away, almost as if she’s embarrassed by being caught staring.

 

Yeah. Nico knows what she’s going to do next. She breathes in and her Mom beings to pat her head gently.

 

She definitely knows.

 

**Date Nineteen:**

 

Place: Nozomi and Eli’s apartment

Time: December 18th, 2016 8:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 3/5 too many shots

 

 _Maybe maybe maybe maybe…_ Maki has had _too_ many jello shots. Maybe. Perhaps. An assumption made by some (some being everyone). It’s not Maki’s fault though because Nozomi loaded them up with, like, _so so so so so_ much stuff. Said they were special “christmas” shots.

 

She leans against Nico and kisses her ear, momentarily forgetting that they’re in front of several people. Maki thought the party would thin out by now. She’s been here for a few hours.

 

Honoka and Tsubasa are here. Maki doesn’t know if Honoka is aware she’s dating Tsubasa or not, though. It’s kinda funny.

 

Maki snorts. _Oh._ She didn’t mean to actually laugh at them. Whatever.

 

“What are you laughing at?” Nico asks, her eyes narrowed.

 

Maki leans in low. “I really don’t think Honoka knows-” she pauses and looks up, there is a strand of hair in her face that she pushes to the side. “Honoka knows,” she continues, “that she’s dating.” Maki thinks about how at the office Honoka talks a lot about Tsubasa, but it’s never in a context other than _she’s super awesome, yeah!?_

 

Nico sighs and rolls her eyes, but there is a small smile on her lips. “Maki’s kinda sloppy when drunk.”

 

“I’m not drunk, just…” she tries to think of a word but the only thing that fits is drunk.”Okay.”

 

Nico snickers and props Maki up a little so she can stand straight. “Looks like you aren’t the only one,” she says and nods forward to where Umi is...dancing? Yes. She’s dancing, all right. That and maybe dry humping Kotori. It’s outlandish considering how Umi usually acts.  Maki laughs again, _hard._

 

“Shh,” Nico says though she’s giggling too. “Let’s get you into the guest room before you hurt yourself.”

 

Maki leans in close so that their lips touch just barely. “What’s the greatest idol in the universe gonna do to me, huh?”

 

Nico slowly walks with them both connected, and quietly against the shell of Maki’s ear she says, “I’m going to kiss you.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“Take off your clothes.”

 

“And?”

 

“Cover you up, and bring a glass of water into the room. Maybe some aspirin also.”

 

Maki deflates because _she’s horny._ It’s just, Nico looks very very good in her christmas sweater even if it is too big, and she’s got this cute santa hat on and her lips are glossy.

“I’m not that drunk,” Maki says leaning in again. She kisses Nico, runs her tongue across pink lips until they open. Nico kisses back but only for a second.

 

“Nico has a fun idea.”

 

“What?”

 

“Maki goes to the bedroom, and Nico will play doctor, okay?”

 

Maki eyes her. Even through the haze it sounds kinda like a trick. “I’m the doctor, though. And you’re the patient, so you have to do what I say.” She puts her finger against Nico’s chest and drags it up to her mouth.

 

Nico leans in, covering one side of her mouth as if others are listening in. It makes Maki kind of anxious. “Role play,” she whispers.

 

Maki nods slowly and goes to the room. She sits on the bed and Nico winks and says she’ll be back before exiting.

 

Maki falls asleep two minutes later.

 

When she wakes up her head is throbbing and - “I’m gonna vomit.”

 

She feels someone shift behind her, then hears a sleepy Nico say, “C’mere,” before gently helping her get up. Quickly they go to the bathroom. Nico holds her hair back and looks away. She seems unphased by it for the most part. Her hands sift through Maki’s hair slowly, glide across her scalp.

 

“Sorry,” Maki says. She feels her cheeks grow hot, and really - she should not have drank so much. She’s never been a drinker in the first place.

 

Nico chuckles, her voice cracking a bit from sleep. “S’okay.” She covers her mouth with her free hand and yawns. “I love you.”

 

Maki smiles. “I lo-” and before she can get the word back her head is bending over the toilet again.

 

**Date Twenty:**

 

Place: Nishikino Residence

Time: December 25th, 2016 6:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: 1/5 Dad’s to get through

 

Nico fiddles with her cardigan as Maki rings the doorbell. The house is huge, actually - it’s not even a house. It’s a fucking manor.

 

“Nervous?”

 

Nico swallows in and nods.

 

Maki takes her hand, but looks away - as if she’s still shy to do it. It makes Nico smile. “Daddy will like you.”

 

“You didn’t like me.”

 

Maki rolls her eyes. “And now I’m taking you to meet my parents. You grow on people. Like...like bacterial.”

 

“You know, that really isn’t helping my nerves,” Nico says back.

 

 _Bacterial growth_ ; because that’s what every girlfriend aspires to be.

 

Maki leans in close, forcing Nico to turn. “How about this,” she says before kissing Nico gently on the lips. That’s when the door chooses to open. Hurricane Maki strikes again.

 

Her dad is there, of course. Along with a red-headed woman Nico takes to be Mom. She certainly looks a lot like Maki.

 

Maki’s dad gives a tight smile, so does her Mom. “Ms. Yazawa, come in,” he says, cordially.

 

They do introductions. It’s awkward and Nico feels gross shaking hands since she’s sweating despite the freezing temperature outside. Maki’s dad acts as if he’s constantly surrounded by a bad smell. It’s painfully reminiscent of Nico’s first introduction to Maki, and Nico cringes because both of them know how well that went.

 

Her Mom seems nice enough, though. Or she’s at least trying, like when they’re eating dinner and talking about what they did for Christmas, she asks Nico specific questions. _How’s your family? Did you two exchange gifts?_ (They did, kind of. Nico told Maki she’d have to wait until later - Maki gave Nico a very pretty necklace with a music note as the charm.)

 

When Maki’s father asks questions they’re more direct, less personal. Like when he asked how much she traveled, and Nico _knew_ it wasn’t actually asked because he cared about traveling.

 

The thing is she wants him to like her. She wants everyone to like her, in all honesty. She cares what people think and wouldn’t be a successful idol if she didn’t. So she smiles and answers his questions earnestly.

 

When they’re done eating, it’s Maki’s father that asks to speak with Nico privately. It’s a relief because at least she doesn’t have to think of an excuse to be alone with Maki’s parents, but it also makes her start to sweat again.

 

Maki doesn’t ask why, just nods and leaves, but not before squeezing Nico’s shoulder.

 

When she’s gone, there is a bout of silence between them. Maki’s parents are on one side of the table, Nico on the other. She misses Maki occasionally touching her hand under the table. Misses the pulses of body heat.

 

Nico laughs and rubs the back of her neck, a strained and painful laugh but it’s something in midst of the quiet tension. “Is this the I’ll kill you if you do something to my daughter talk?”

 

Maki’s mom gives a genuine smile, while her dad just kinda stares.

 

“Before that, I just want to say,” Nico starts off, “I--” she fiddles with the bottom of her cardigan again and swallows in. A part of her wants to switch into her idol persona, that comes naturally, that’s easy. But it’s not appropriate for the subject. “I love Maki. _So much.”_ She stops and thinks about her next words. She can be good with words when she puts on a personality, she can be. But now everything is so real. _It’s hard._ She’s so good at talking except for when it counts, it seems.

 

Nico sighs, and fishes in the pocket of her cardigan; pulls out a small, black box. “I want to marry her. I want to always--” _breathe,_ “I always want to be with her.”

 

Maki’s father sets his mouth into a hard line, while her Mom just seems sympathetic. “You do?” he says, states more than questions. “Why are you telling me this, Ms. Yazawa?”

 

“I want permission.”

 

“No.”

 

Nico jolts at the hard, simplicity. “ _Huh?”_

 

“Ms. Yazawa, are you aware of the current rate of divorce? Worse than that, the current rate of celebrity divorce. And are you aware of who my daughter is?” He tenses his knuckles, and Nico starts to feel sick. “Who she’s to become and what she’s going to do? I can respect your feelings, but I cannot condone an obvious distraction in what is now a very prominent time in my daughter’s life.”

 

“Honey--” comes the soft voice of Maki’s mother, almost in chiding but not quite. She places her hand on his shoulder.

 

“Could you promise that this would never be a mistake?” he then asks. “Could you tell me, honestly, that you think this would be good for her?”

 

Nico’s face falls. She can’t say that, can she? She doesn’t know the future, she doesn’t know what could happen or why or when. When she doesn’t answer, Maki’s father looks up, “Maki?” he calls. Calm, casual. Maybe even happy.

 

They finish the evening like everything is normal, and Nico didn’t just get struck with the idea of her and Maki being temporary.

 

When Maki mentions the gift, Nico clutches her pocket. “Silly Nico! Nozomi must still have it because I left it with her,” she laughs and hopes it doesn’t sound fake.

 

Maki looks at Nico, her lip wedged in between white teeth. “Are you okay? Did Daddy scare you because--”

 

Nico kisses her, long and hard. She doesn’t cry, she won’t do that. But she puts everything she’s feeling into the kiss, clutches Maki’s hair, her hip, traces the line of Maki’s lips with her tongue, tastes her.

 

Maki doesn’t ask anymore questions that night.

 

**Date Twenty-one:**

 

Place: Tatsu Sweets

Time: January 30th, 2017 2:00 pm

Yelp: 4/5 | Date: ⅖ forced smiles

 

Maki practically has to force Nico to leave the house. It’s irritating and baffling and she just doesn’t _get_ it. Something happened with Daddy, something had to have - because ever since that kiss - that wonderful but sad kiss - Nico’s been different. She’s also been busy, which Maki takes into consideration; but that can’t be all it is.

 

It feels like they barely talk now, and when they do Nico puts on a front. Physically, things haven’t really changed. Not really. Except it’s more intense. Like Nico’s exchanging being distant with everything else. Nico’s trying to tell her something but only with her body. Serious looks and hard touches and _love_ but she doesn’t actually say anything.

 

Nothing that’s meaningful.

 

Nico hasn’t said the word love in ten days, and the last time she did it was muffled against Maki’s ear.

 

“I love you,” Maki says. It’s a test.

 

Nico is pushing pieces of cake around on her plate. She looks up, smiles. And Maki knows that she either won’t answer, or she’ll put on that annoying idol persona.

 

“Maki’s being awfully sweet to Nico today.”

 

She nearly groans, but doesn’t. It’s just _why is Nico such an idiot._ “Is anything wrong?” Maki asks. She feels like she’s repeated it too many times, like her mouth has familiarized the words. And usually she’d leave it, but with Nico it just drives her insane.

 

“I’m fine. Just busy,” she says.

 

Maki feels a tight knot in her stomach. “Okay.”

 

**Date Twenty-two:**

 

Place: Maki and Nico’s apartment

Time: February 14th, 2017 6:00 pm

Yelp: N/A | Date: yikes

 

On one hand, Nico knows it’s completely stupid to not tell Maki. On the other, she wonders if it’s fair to tell Maki. She doesn’t know if it would be selfish or not, if it would hurt or help. This nagging voice in the back of Nico’s head tells her that Maki’s dad is right.

 

Maki is used to planning ahead, and can Nico promise that Maki won’t ever regret saying yes to a proposal (if she says yes in the first place).

 

All Nico knows is that _she_ would always be happy.

 

But she’s an idol, and Maki is a striving doctor who’s going to do so many big things. Who’s to say Nico won’t bring her down. Nico’s already at her peak, anyways; but Maki isn’t. She’s still got so much left. And Nico realizes that she doesn't want to ever drag Maki down and - it’s just so complicated.

 

Being in love is complicated.

 

She’s trying to pretend like it didn’t happen, trying to get it out of her head so things can be normal. But even work can’t make her stop thinking about Maki.

 

Being in love is _annoying._

 

It’s Valentine’s Day now, and Nico is trying. She’s set up a dinner for them, cooked and everything. There are even candles. It’s hard to speak freely now, though - without some kind of persona taking over.

 

“I’m not going to take over Father’s position,” Maki says before taking a small bite out of her soup.

 

Nico swallows. “What? Why?” She remembers Maki being busy for a few months while partially covering - but Maki never seemed particularly upset with it.

 

“The job isn’t bad - it’s a lot, but not bad. I want to keep my practice, though.”

 

Nico thinks back to when she told Maki to think about it and wonders if she’s already fucking up things for Maki. She sets her jaw before sighing. “Are you sure? When I brought it up you seemed like you were really interested in your father’s position.”

 

Maki drops her spoon and looks up. Her face is red, but not in a cutesy blush way. “Okay. What the hell has been going on with you?”

 

“What? Nothing.” She keeps lying and isn’t exactly surprised that Maki’s mad but can she really say why?

 

“You tell me to think about what I want to do and now that I know, you question me. You’ve been standoffish ever since you met my parents. You--” she throws her hands up. “You’re not telling me something and  -” she lets out a frustrated groan. “What’s with that?”

 

Nico chews on her lip. “I can’t say.”

 

“Well if you can’t say one little thing after all these months of being together then maybe we shouldn’t--” she stops herself.

 

“Shouldn’t what?” Nico’s heart pounds two times, a loud thud against her chest. It feels more like a punch than anything.

 

Maki places her hand in her hair, idly twirls as she looks down. “Nothing. Just forget it - I’m tired.”

 

Nico walks up to her, stares at Maki until she looks back. _“Shouldn’t what?”_

 

 _There it is_. That single doubt, that crack in what could be the future. Enough to make Nico now fully understand what Maki’s father meant. The unpredictable nature that comes with their push and pull.

 

Maki sighs and slowly closes her eyes. “I told you, I’m just tired.”

 

Nico grabs her face and kisses her softly. “I think--” she says, and stops. The rims of Maki’s eyes are red, and Nico forces herself to not look away. “I’m going to stay with Nozomi and Eli for a little bit.” She swallows in and smiles, gives a dry laugh.

 

“Nico’s been busy, lately. Fuzzy.”

 

Maki pulls away. “Don’t do that. It’s stupid. If you’re going to say something then just say it.”

 

“We just need a small break,” Nico says. She’s not going to cry because she doesn’t have the right to in front of Maki.

 

“I don’t. _You_ do. Don’t blame this on me.” Maki is trying not to cry, but her eyes are watery and there are small streaks of wet skin on her cheeks that glisten by the candles.

 

She’s very very wrong, but Nico nods. She kisses Maki on the cheek. “I do.” Nico lets out a strangled breath. “I’ll call, and be back. Just need to sort some things out.”

 

She packs quickly, only a few important items. Then nearly cracks when she hears a low, “Don’t bother,” as she exits the apartment.

  


**Date Twenty-three:**

 

Place: Bridal Cake Factory

Time: February 20th, 2017 2:00 pm

Yelp: 4/5 | Date: Nicocchi is always five stars :-)

 

Nozomi doesn’t know if she’s ever seen Nico like this. Even after receiving her first rejection Nico bounced back up and got back out there, but now it’s been a week and there is still no bounce. She’s just sad.

 

“Try this one,” Nozomi says, pushing the strawberry filled over. She figures that maybe cake shopping will help.

 

“This is stupid. We picked the cake three weeks ago.”

 

Nozomi frowns. She’s not wrong, Eli had been there for that. “You need cheering up. Besides, it’s not like they know,” Nozomi whispers before taking a bite out of another sample. “We haven’t gone out just the two of us in a while.”

 

Nico grumbles something that Nozomi doesn’t catch and tries the strawberry filled. “The marble, cherry topped is still the best.”

 

“Would the lovely couple like to try another flavor,” the consultant asks coming up to them. Nozomi wonders if he lives under a rock because he’s yet to recognize Nico. He does seem the snooty type, though.

 

Nico groans. “She’s not my--”

 

“Yes. We’d love to try the dark chocolate champagne.”

 

“Of course,” he says with a thin smile.

 

Nozomi can feel Nico glaring, but she doesn’t actually say anything. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened?”

 

“No.”

 

“Are you ever going to say why you’re sad?”

 

“Are you ever going to shut up?” Nico asks. It lacks the usual bite.

 

And Nozomi’s getting kind of bored with the whole sad Nico thing, and annoyed. She sighs, loud and over the top in order to get Nico to look up at her. “That wasn’t really nice, Nicocchi. And you know what happens when people aren’t nice.”

 

Nico’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry - I - look, I-” Nozomi shakes her head and continues to lean in. She flexes her hands. “We’re in public!”

 

They are, but they aren’t. The room is mostly private. Not that it would stop Nozomi in the first place.

 

She does the only thing that will garner a real reaction from Nico; comes behind and _squeezes._ Nico squirms and struggles, and Nozomi latches tighter.

 

“Nozomi! Stop - St--”

 

“Tell me.”

 

_“Fuck off!”_

 

 _“Tell me…_ ” Nozomi presses further into Nico until she hears the sound of a throat clearing.

 

“Ladies, you can’t do that in here. I’m going to need to ask you to leave.” It’s the same man from before, his oily mustache crinkles with his frown. Nozomi almost laughs.

“Pre wedding jitters,” she says and lets go. “We’ll be leaving now.”

 

Nico stands and follows Nozomi out, murmuring a hushed, “I hate you,” as they exit.

 

They walk together. Nico puts her sunglasses on and hitches her scarf high enough to cover her face. “Why do you keep doing that?” she asks.

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Pushing. It’s nothing - I’m just staying with you and Eli to think.”

 

“Oh? What about the engagement ring in your drawer?”  Nozomi giggles when Nico’s head pops up.

 

“Stop going through my stuff!”

 

She wasn’t, though. Not really - she was looking for batteries and _hoping_ that Nico had some. It was then that she saw the little box. “Did she say no?”

 

Nico groans and leans her head back. “No, okay. She didn’t. You can’t say no to a question that was never asked.”

 

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi sighs, “What’s going on?” Nozomi sets her lips into a straight line, and her heart beats fast. Anyone who knows Nico would be worried.

 

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

 

Nozomi nudges Nico with her elbow. “You’ve known me for how long?”

 

“ _Fine._ ” Nico grinds her teeth together. “I asked her father for permission and he told me no.”

 

Nozomi stops dead in her tracks, chews the inside of her lip. “That’s...that’s all?” And Nico glares. It takes Nozomi a second to realize of course Nico would want Maki’s Father’s permission. “ _Oh._ ”

 

“And, he - he made me think. What if in the end, Maki ends up regretting it because we’re too different. I’m already where I wanted to be, but it’s not the same for her, right?”

 

“You love her?”

 

_“Duh.”_

 

Nozomi fishes through her pocket and grabs her deck of tarot cards.

 

“What the hell? Why do you always carry those around?”

 

“For the occasional epiphany.” She winks and grabs a card directly from the middle of her deck, then flicks it out to Nico between two gloved fingers.

 

“You’re so weird.” She looks up at the card. “It’s two people with a cup.” Nozomi smiles until she eventually gets a begrudging, “What’s it mean?”

 

“ _We.”_

 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

 

Nozomi laughs and hands the card over to Nico. “It means _we_.”

 

“What kind of bullshit - Nozomi, I-” she slumps and looks at the ground. “I don’t know what to do.”

 

Gingerly, Nozomi pulls her into a hug and Nico is too exhausted to fight it. She feels Nico’s face fall into the cloth of her scarf. “I love her,” Nico says. She says it over and over and Nozomi can hear the shake in her voice.

 

“Do what you do best,” Nozomi says.

 

Nico gives a wet laugh. “And what do I do best?”

 

“Go for what you want.”

 

**Date Twenty-four:**

 

Place: Tatsu plaza

Time: March 4th, 2017 8:00 pm

Yelp: 5/5 | Date: 5/5 ways to be completely stupid

 

Nico is an idiot.

 

Maki loves her, painfully. But she’s an idiot.

 

Nico left weeks ago. Didn’t break up with Maki, in fact - it can’t even be called a temporary break up considering Nico sends texts to Maki every day (Nothing spectacular just _How’s your day? -_ and more recently she’s played around with actual conversation _)._ But for some reason Nico moved out because of “space _.”_

 

And Maki loves that _idiot_ so much that she actually had to dig up why Nico needed space. So, Maki talked to her father.

 

She’s never been rebellious by any means. In fact, the biggest argument she’s ever had with her father - up to a few days ago at least - was when she thought about dying her hair brown. She didn’t because he said it would be silly, and she realized that there was no point anyways.

 

But then she found out. Not just parts, but everything - her father has always been relatively up front. And Nico is still a complete idiot for not telling her, but: _ugh._

 

She’s next to Nico at the wedding table. Everyone is dancing, but they’ve just been sitting. It’s the third time since Valentine’s day that Maki’s actually seen her. The first being Nico swinging by quickly to pick up some clothes - it was awkward. The second was Nico coming to her practice. They had a very quiet, very uncomfortable lunch together that was saved by the presence of Rin and Hanayo.

 

Nico’s fidgeting a lot, like she wants to say something but won’t.

 

“Idiot,” Maki mutters.

 

Nico props herself up and stops fiddling with her hands for the first time since Nozomi and Eli said their vows. She was too busy crying then.

 

“Did you just call me an idiot?”

 

Maki rolls her eyes and stands. “Can we go somewhere private?” She looks around and sees that everyone is busy having a good time - unlike them.

 

Nico nods, almost like it was her idea. Idiot. God why does Maki love her _this much._ Maki walks and Nico follows her until they’re in the hallway by the back door where no one else can see them in plain sight.

 

“You could have just told me, you know?” Maki says straight away. “You can’t just -” she groans, “assume you know what I’m going to do, and what’s good to talk about.”

 

“That’s not--”

 

“No it is,” Maki says. “That isn’t how relationships work. Or, at least I don’t think so.” Maki shakes her head. “I don’t know, okay. But I--”

 

“I’m sorry,” Nico blurts out.

 

“What?”

 

Nico looks down and kicks the ground with her heel. “I thought that maybe if I didn’t mention it everything would blow over, and I would be okay, and I wouldn’t have to--” Nico stops and her eyes go wide. “How much do you know exactly?”

 

“You asked my father to marry me, he said no - something like that, right?” Maki says it all as plainly as possible, and she feels a little satisfaction in the way Nico shrinks.

 

“I just don’t...I don’t want you to realize that it doesn’t work for you later. Or realize that you actually did want to be in charge of that hospital thing, or,” she sighs. “I don’t know.”

 

“Neither of us know?” Maki says, smiling. She can’t really help it around Nico. “Getting married would be stupid then, probably.”

 

Nico swallows in and blushes. She looks down at the ground. “Yeah. Probably.”

 

Maki twirls a strand of hair and looks down to the side, then to Nico’s pink shoes. There is a small scuff on the very end, but you can only see it if you look closely.

 

“How stupid are you?” Maki asks.

 

“Hey! What kind of question--” Nico stops when Maki digs into her clutch, and pulls out a ring. Maki didn’t bother with the box because it wouldn’t really fit with her phone and pager - but now she thinks she would have liked it for the dramatic effect, or whatever. “Maki…?”

 

“I--” Maki chews the inside of her cheek before forcing herself to look up. “I talked to your mom, and she said it was okay as long as,” Maki falters, “something about seven grandchildren. Daddy didn’t like it, but he’ll come around. And Mom just wanted to make sure I wanted to do this, so - how stupid are you?”

 

“Maki…”

 

“I don’t think either of us know what we’re really doing. But I don’t want you to not be there one day, and I don’t really like sleeping alone anymore, and-” and _why_ isn’t Maki better with this stuff. It would have been easier if Nico proposed. Oh yeah, she didn’t actually get to that part. Right. “So, even if it’s stupid, I - will you be stupid with me, and you know?” She looks at the ring.

 

“Know what?” Nico edges closer, swaying her body. “If you’re gonna ask a girl a question you gotta do it right, Nishikino.” Her voice is shakey, and her eyes are shining; but her _smile._ A real smile. Maki’s skin tingles, her heart beats fast, her hands begin to quiver.

 

“You’re one to talk,” Maki mutters before clearing her throat. “Will you marry me?”

 

Nico blinks several times, the wet rims of her eyes percolating more and more. “Yes,” she says, then laughs, “I mean, you didn’t get down on what knee but--”

 

Maki rolls her eyes, steps in and kisses her. “I’m wearing a dress,” she says against Nico’s mouth, but doesn’t pull away.

 

Maki never imagined it would feel this good to kiss her again, to taste the chalky, cherry coating she puts over her lipstick, or feel Nico’s tongue, or her hands.

 

Nico’s hands that brush over her breast and down to her waist. Maki forgets that they’re in a hallway at a wedding.

 

“You know, we’re going to have to hide this for tonight. Nozomi might not care, but Eli will kill me if I upstage.”

 

“Tomorrow?” Maki says, muffled between them.

 

“After the honeymoon.”

 

“Smart.” Maki pulls away only a fraction. “Are we ever going to go back in because someone's definitely noticed that we’re gone by now.”

 

“Mean,” Nico says, teasing her tongue out for a second before pulling away. “I guess you’re right - besides, we haven’t danced yet.” She takes Maki’s hand and pulls her back inside.

 

They dance.

 

The song is kind of fast and Nico jumps around a lot. Everyone does. Nozomi and Eli are holding hands and smiling and for a second Nozomi looks over to Maki. Eli looks as well. They nod before looking back at each other and murmuring something; Maki can’t quite tell what it is, but she knows it’s about them.

 

“What are you looking at?” Nico asks. She pouts and moves in closer.

 

Maki meets her gaze and feels this internal pull that makes her press closer to Nico. “They’ll be happy,” Maki states.

 

“Mmhmm.” Nico wraps her arms around the nape of Maki’s neck. “What about us?” she asks.

  
Maki kisses Nico. “We have the world’s greatest idol and the doctor who’s able to put up with her on a daily basis.” The left corner of Nico’s mouth tugs up. “I think we’ll manage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TY for reading !


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